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| Six Men Shot; Police Nab Nine Suspects |
| By Sheena Brooks |
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| Shooting victims: Utendale “Utee” Whyte and Thuan “Assassin” Audain |
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Police have taken nine males into custody to assist in the investigation of a shooting which left six young men hospitalized in serious condition.
On Tuesday, July 20, at 2:23 p.m. the relative peace of St. Johnston’s Village was shattered by the sound of gunfire. When the smoke cleared, six men had been wounded, some multiple times, in an alley connecting Millionaire Street to St. Johnson Avenue.
The shooting victims were Thuan “Assassin” Audain of Haynes Smith; Utendale “Utee” Whyte, Jahari “Bad Ass” Hazel, and Steve “Butt Me” Henry of St. Johntson; Shedrick Tucker of Laguerite; and Maurice “Killa” Dublin of Lime Kiln. With the exception of Henry, said to be in his late 30’s, the men are reportedly in their late teens and early 20’s.
Reports are that the group was ‘liming’ in the alley when a number of persons approached on foot and opened fire.
According to residents in the surrounding communities, there were more than a dozen shots fired and based on the ‘rapid-fire’ sound of the gunshots, either machine guns were used or there were multiple shooters.
The men were rushed to the nearby JNF Hospital where they all underwent emergency surgery. Some were immediately listed as being in critical condition, however all were stabilized as of press time. A source informed The Observer that Dublin was shot in the leg, and based on the precarious position of the bullet it was too risky to have it removed during surgery. Police officers manned the hospital entrance after the shooting victims were transported there, as family members, friends, and curious onlookers flocked to the institution as news of the incident spread.
Speaking to The Observer, Acting Police PRO Inspector Zenhastel Hector said police have received no credible information as to how many gunmen were involved. He did not confirm rumors that most of the victims were “uncooperative”.
“Information about the number of persons who committed the shooting remains sketchy at best. There are reports of two gunmen to as many as four or five. At this point we simply do not know for sure,” he said.
Inspector Hector did confirm that as of Thursday morning (July 22) the nine men taken into custody were still being held. No charges have been laid against any of the apprehended suspects.
The Village shooting was preceded by two recent gun-related incidents. On Tuesday, July 13, police responded to a report of shooting which occurred at approximately 9:00 p.m at Adlam Street in the vicinity of the Internet Café. Investigations revealed that Sylvester Crossley, Randell Hanley, and Erastus Laville, all of McKnight, were sitting on a wall at the back of the Movies 3 building when two masked persons dressed in all black appeared and fired three shots at them. The men were able to run away and avoid injury.
The Observer was reliably informed that on Sunday evening (July 18) an unknown number of men opened fire on a Newtown resident as he stood at the bottom of Madhouse Alley. The young man was not injured, the source indicated.
Police continue to investigate these latest gun-related incidents.
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