Two Jamaica Defence Force soldiers patrol Mountain View Avenue yesterday following a fierce gunfight between police and gunmen. - Norman Grindley

Members of the security forces had to deploy to sections of Mountain View Avenue in east Kingston yesterday, following the killing of two men, one of whom was a reputed don.

Dead are Howard Patterson, also called Bobo, the alleged area leader of the Goodridge Lane community off Mountain View Avenue and Troy Malcolm of a Jacques Road also off Mountain View Avenue.

According to reports, about 11:30 a.m. Patterson was shot and killed while at a shop at nearby Bygrave Avenue.

About an hour later in what the police theorise to be an act of reprisal, Malcolm was shot and his house set ablaze by heavily armed men who invaded his community. He perished in the fire.

Following Malcolm's murder heavily armed men challenged members of the security forces who were in search of his killers in a section of Goodridge Lane.

When THE WEEKEND STAR visited the community yesterday, policemen could be seen going from house to house in search of the men who were said to be firing at them.

persons of interest

The police identified two men, Michael Ewan, otherwise called 'Mikey One Two' and Khani Kirkland, also known as 'Junior' and 'Twiggy' as persons of interest in Malcolm's murder.

"Di bway dem pin wi down inna one yard eno star ... Wi end up a fire back but dem pin wi down agen cause one a di squaddy dem drop him phone, mi tell him fi left it and him seh him cyaa do dat cause a Blackberry," one of the policemen recalled as he spoke about the gunbattle between the police and heavily armed thugs.

A number of men and women from the community were detained, a situation which angered a few residents who accuse the police of being biased.

"Is a man from ya suh dem kill but yet still a we dem a terrorise ... A foolishness dat," one irate woman who gave her name as Paula said.

A long-standing feud between Goodridge Lane and Jacques Road heightened in recent times following reports that thugs from Goodridge Lane tricked their counterparts from Jacques Road into lending them guns. After the plot was revealed they declared the guns would not be returned.

The police say they will be maintaining a strong presence in the areas.