"Bwoy, dem nuh have not even respect fi God, look weh dem kill the boy."

Sentiments like these were heard outside the Clifton Testament Church on Mannings Hill Road, which accommodates the Rosedale Basic School. Marcus Nelson was shot and killed after he went to pick up his younger brother from school. Luckily, some say, the little boy, who is no more than four years old, had already been taken home by another family member as he could very well have been a victim of his brother's killers.

Oblivious to what had happened to his brother, he played, skipped and laughed like any ordinary happy child would do while everyone else around him gathered close to where the incident had happened, discussing yet another murder in the community.

daily routine

A relative of the deceased said it was part of his daily routine to pick up his sibling. As he was about to leave the school after he was informed that the student was not there, he was struck down by gunmen. Some people claim to have heard about five shots. He was shot in the head.

Family members, as well as other passersby, stood in confusion and shock as they came to terms with the death of the young man who they said was in his early 20s.

Among the adults near the crime scene were children who seemed unshaken by the murder. They instead rushed to get a view of the body. As one student said, he feared nothing because he had witnessed too many murders.

When the news team arrived on the scene about three o'clock, two suspects had been picked up by the police in close proximity to the school. One was said to have been found hiding in a bathroom on the premises of the Salvation Army, which is opposite the church, and the other was apprehended in a nearby community called Commons.

latoya.grindley@gleanerjm.com