Prime Minister Andrew Holness appears to send a clear warning to hoodlums responsible for firebombing 11 houses in a multi-dwelling complex on Walker’s Avenue in Gregory Park, St Catherine, on Saturday morning, August 12, 2023, when he said thugs would not get a free reign to do as they please in the country. “You will not win.”
During the firebombing, which occurred between 3:30 am and 4:00 am Saturday, one ma.
3 was shot dead and an older woman injured as the criminals, allegedly armed with rifles and handguns, went on a rampage, burning down houses and firing gunshots at people to prevent them from escaping the blaze.
Holness toured the affected area on Monday morning, along with Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson and Alando Terrelonge, Member of Parliament of East Central St Catherine, where Gregory Park locates, pledged to rebuild the 11 houses destroyed during the blaze.
The tour’s purpose was to assess the damage and give assurances of the Government’s response to the tragedy.
“We are going to treat this one special. The people who committed the crime are known violence producers, and I will be personally on it to ensure that every last one of them is found and dealt with within the remit of the law. We cannot allow this to become a feature in Jamaica. You have no right to try and destroy people’s homes and displace them,” Holness said.
Holness gave the community his word that the government would rebuild the 11 houses the hoodlums destroyed. He stated that if the objective of the terrorists is to displace the people so that they can import who they want into the area, thugs will not have that comfort, and they will not have that victory. The PM stressed that the Government would rebuild the structures so the people could have a good life and living conditions. Further, he stated, “Government will never allow the criminals to win.” He also revealed that the area was already under consideration to benefit from the new social housing program.
Holness added that the government had previously deemed the complex the thugs targeted as one needing an upgrade.
“That process will be fast-tracked. If criminals thought they had won, they would be sadly mistaken,” he said.