Noel Thompson, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Relatives and friends wept bitterly last week Friday night, as the bullet riddled bodies of two male employees of the Delapenha's Funeral Home were huddled into a hearse in Albion, Montego Bay.

The men were killed while they were reportedly working on caskets outside the building, which houses a large workshop and garage.

Those killed are 49-year-old Owen McKenzie, otherwise called 'Jukie', originally of Devon, Manchester, and Eric Roberts, 43, of Heartease in Manchester.

Set fire to building

Shortly before 7:00 p.m., the men were pounced on by a group of armed men, who gained entry to the facility through an open garage door. The men opened fire, which hit the two men several times, after which they allegedly set fire to the building, damaging nine vehicles.

"You could see that dem was running away trying to escape, but dem couldn't get weh because di gate was too high," said a relative of one of the deceased men.

McKenzie's body was found in close proximity to the gate.

Police puzzled

"Mi lucky. Mi was so compelled to come collect a vehicle and a friend said why mi was in such hurry. Mi friend asked me to follow him somewhere and that's what save me," one worker recounted.

The incident has left the Montego Bay police puzzled, who up to Saturday had not established a motive for the incident.

Head of Crime for the Area One Police, Superintendent Gayle, said "We are not ruling out anything. We are looking at all possibilities, but we just cannot say anything at this time."

The commanding officer, Superintendent Steve McGregor said the situation was delicate and required intensive investigation.

Member of Parliament for North West St James, Dr Horace Chang, who came to support the managing director of the funeral home, Dale Delapenha, with a team of party officials, described the incident as "another unfortunate and tragic event".

Declined to speculate

Said Chang: "It is particularly worrying as it seems we were experiencing a level of stability in spite of the continuing social issues. I was hoping the stability would have maintained, as the police have been making progress."

The member of parliament declined to speculate whether the incident might be linked to the ongoing dispute between Delapenha's Funeral Home and residents in neighbouring Hanover over a burial site.