Heavily-armed gangs fought fierce street battles for more than five hours in August Town yesterday, killing two men and injuring three persons in a brazen display of terror that underlined the difficulty peace advocates have had in this St Andrew community for the past five years.

Up to the time the Observer was being prepared for printing last night, the dead men were not identified. A 15-year-old boy, who was shot in the abdomen, was among those injured. The other two injured men were shot in the hand and leg.

Crime scene investigators take notes at a murder scene in August Town, St Andrew yesterday. Two men were killed and three others injured during a more than five-hour gun battle between gangs in the community yesterday. (Photo: Llewellyn Wynter)

Police say the heavy, sustained gunfire pinned them down for hours and they were only able to enter the community at minutes after 4:00 pm through a section near a quarry at Goldsmith Villa after rescue teams in armoured trucks rolled into the area.

Police say they were responding to reports that a body was lying in a pool of *lo** in a section of the hills near the quarry, but were pressed back for hours after gunmen sprayed bullets at them every time they attempted to approach the scene.

Head of the St Andrew Central police division, Superintendent George Quallo, expressed concern for the men under his command, whose hands he said were tied. Gunmen, he said, were using the cover of the hills.

"These are the challenges we face. Every time the police try to approach the area they shoot at us. We cannot fire back because a lot of innocent people live up in the hills. We have to be responsible and do not want to risk any lives," a concerned Quallo told the Observer.

One of the dead men was shot in another part of August Town known as 'Jungle 12'. The bullet shattered a section of his skull and he lay shirtless in the roadway. Police say his body was dragged and left on display by his killers.

The August Town police say a three-way war between gangs from the Jungle 12, Goldsmith Villa and Judgment Yard sections of the community has been the reason for the latest upsurge in violence. The police say the gangs have powerful weapons and a seemingly endless supply of ammunition.

"From morning the shooting going on," one cop at the August Town Police Station said. "The gunmen have bigger guns and it going take a miracle to flush them out. Me hear a gun buss, me think it was thunder."

One resident was badly shaken up and issued an appeal to the warring factions to end the *lo**letting.

The shooting caused some shell-shocked residents of the war-torn community to stay indoors.

"I am begging and pleading with the gunmen to give us a chance to live a normal life. A lot of hard-working, decent people live in August Town and we hate the sounds of gunshots. We can't take the killing no more," the resident, who broke down in tears, said.

After weeks of an uneasy calm, the area erupted late last month as gangs from Vietnam and Jungle 12 faced off. The result was the murder of four men from the community and injury of two others.

During last month's violent eruption, the police were also pinned down by gunmen who the cops say were from the Vietnam area.
As gunfire raged in August Town, police from the St Andrew Central division were also paying attention to the Verene Avenue area of Cassia Park, where two men were murdered between Saturday and Sunday night.

One of the dead men has been identified as Andrew Scott of a Westminister Road address. The other man was up to yesterday not identified by the Constabulary Communication Network.

The police say the area has been tense and they will be maintaining a presence to stem any further disturbance.