The police are downplaying as pure speculation the reports of an ongoing feud between popular dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel and an alleged don in the Waterford area of Portmore.

There have been several shootings in Waterford, Portmore area recently, that have claimed at least three lives and some residents have blamed it on the feud between the men.

On Saturday, gunmen shot and killed Kevin Francis, 27; Claude 'Tony' Davidson and Orville Hyman, 24, while injured were two teenagers and a 24-year-old man from Portmore.

Reports are that about 5:30 a.m., Hyman was at Manhertz Road when he was attacked by a group of gunmen. The men opened fire hitting him all over his body. He was pronounced dead at the Spanish Town Hospital.

Four hours later, Francis was on Knock Patrick main road when a group of men travelling in a white Toyota Corolla opened fire hitting him and three other persons. They were taken to hospital where Francis was pronounced dead.

Later in the night, residents in Portmore Villas heard explosions and called the police who found Davidson dead in the community.

Allegations are that the first attack, at the 'Peaceful Fridays Dance', was orchestrated by the don. The dance which was held last Friday in Waterford saw Dwight 'Nuclear' White, a member of Kartel's Portmore Empire, barely escaping the attack.

Silent

While most residents have been silent about the feud, one resident said that the men started firing shots at the dance. "Three man jus forward and start shoot up which part wi did deh, and two shot ketch him inna him foot. Mi nuh know weh dem man deh come from, because a peace dance and di party did all finish and ting," a witness of the shooting said.

It is reported that in reprisal, Orville Hyman of Manhertz Road in Waterford was murdered. The Waterford police confirmed that Hyman was shot and killed because of the feud. They said they had heard of the alleged feud between Kartel and the don.

"I don't know what started the recent feud. It is a long time feud, and I don't know what triggered it between the gang dem. No arrests have been made. The area calm down because we have had dialogue with members of both sides," said the officer.

"We have heard of those allegations (the feud between Kartel and the don) but we have been unable to prove it. What we are hearing is just pure speculation. When we met with both sides they denied it flatly. Both Kartel and the other person said they knew nothing about the feud and how it started," he said.

In a release yesterday, the St. Catherine South Homicide Unit which is investigating the murders also downplayed the issue.

"The CIB office has no evidence to suggest that it is a feud. They have heard the speculations but that's all they are," said Constable Verdane Wright, the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) Liaison Officer for the police division.

Efforts to contact Vybz Kartel or the 'don' were unsuccessful as the numbers went unanswered. The police in the meantime say that calm has returned to the area since they met with the alleged warring factions.