MONTEGO BAY, St James More than 12 gunmen went on a savage rampage in the tough Bird Hill area of Salt Spring early yesterday, killing five persons two execution style before fleeing the depressed community on foot. Up to press time one of the dead men was still unidentified.

Police gave the names of the others as: Cornel Brown, 20 years old and Elton Hines, 23, both of Bird Hill; Damion Brooks and 20-year-old Byron Powell, whose addresses are not known.

Police report that about 5:30 am the armed thugs went into the area and forced Brown and Hines to lie face down on the narrow roadway. They were then shot in the back of their heads.The gunmen then went to a nearby house which was being occupied by Brooks, Powell and the unidentified man, where they sprayed them with bullets before setting the house ablaze, while their bodies lay inside the building in pools of *lo**.

The Observer was told that one of the occupants of the house was beheaded after he was shot.

The police said when they went to the crime scene yesterday the victims charred remains were found among the rubble of the burnt house.

The remains were later removed to the morgue.

When the Observer visited the section of the community where the second shootings occurred, investigators watched by a crowd of curious people were busy gathering forensic evidence.

Residents were, however, tight-lipped about what took place.

All mi can say, boss, is that mi nuh know what could a cause this, said an elderly man.

Another man close by said he heard the barrage of gunshots in the early morning but could not say what was taking place.

The Bird Hill area of Salt Spring is located about three miles south of the resort city of Montego Bay and has been identified as one of the areas in St James where criminal gangs are wreaking havoc.

The police have often complained that the Salt Spring community is difficult to patrol, due to its unplanned development.

Late yesterday, Superintendent Merrick Watson, the commanding officer for the St James police, declined to comment on the killings, which have pushed the murder toll in the parish to more than 85, since the start of the year.

I really cant talk to the media; I dont have a comment not yet; not right now, said Watson, who took command of the parish just over two months ago.