Long time we nuh see Christmas - Kidd Lane residents say violence has blocked festivities

Residents in Kidd Lane, off Spanish Town Road, say the last time the spirit of Christmas was felt in the community was 2015, as violence had blocked their festivities last year and a repeat seems inevitable.

THE WEEKEND STAR understands that the community is on lockdown as lives are being snuffed out by the gunslingers left, right and centre.

"Christmas a fi everybody else, nuh, bout ya suh. A must dat because last year dem kill man Christmas Eve, and then the whole place deh pon lockdown. Now, this year, a more killing, and di people dem a run weh cause house a bun down and people a dead," one resident said.

The residents told THE WEEKEND STAR that this is the worst the community has been in years.

"Me see bad man and don deh ya and war a gwaan, and nobody nah run lef the place. Right now, di place empty. People a pack up and move cause the thing serious. If you want see Christmas or live fi see the new year, not here so, you have to find somewhere else go," another resident told THE WEEKEND STAR.

The latest crime statistics indicate that the total number of murders committed so far this year is nearing the 1,400 mark.

MAJOR INCREASE IN MURDER

The St Andrew South Police Division, where the affected community is situated, accounts for 143 of the total murders, a major increase when compared to the corresponding period last year

The Commissioner of Police George Quallo called an emergency meeting on Wednesday with the divisional heads at the Police Officers' Club.

The highlight of the discussions surrounded the spiralling murder toll and steps to be taken to curtail murder and gang activities.