[UPDATED] TROUBLE IN SCORPION ALLEY – six killed by gunmen in 3 weeks

The Scorpion Alley community in Carenage, the Prime Minister’s constituency, is under siege by gunmen who have killed six people in the last three weeks.

The latest incident took place around 9 pm on Tuesday, the day after the local government elections, when residents of upper Abbe Poujade Street heard gunshots which lasted for about three minutes. In a video circulating on social media, a man could be heard casually repeating, “Gunshots in Scorpion,” while dozens of gunshots rang out in the background.

Residents called the police who were directed to a house just off the road. There they found the bodies of two brothers – "PH" taxi driver Joshua “Four & Forty” George, 23, and security officer Israel Letren, 32.

George had two addresses: Upper Abbe Poujade Street, Carenage and Davidson Drive, La Puerta Avenue, Diego Martin. Letren lived at the same Carenage address as George.

The men had multiple gunshot wounds and were lying unresponsive on the floor of the kitchen and toilet areas. The district medical officer pronounced the men dead and ordered their bodies removed while the CSI team processed the scene and collected evidence.

Residents told Newsday five gunmen came “over the hills” on foot, shot at the front of the home and then went inside and killed the brothers.

“People were liming on the road and when they heard the gunshots they ran and got injured falling down. After they came out, they just walked out. They never run or even jog. They walked out and went their way.”

A senior investigator said the police believed the murders were gang-related. They said the murders were of great concern to the police but they would not reveal information to the public so that suspects could not prepare themselves for eventual interception.

George’s common-law wife of seven years, who preferred not to be named, described her husband as “humble, normal and a nice man.

“He was a loving person. He tried to make me happy the best way he could. He never do anyone anything. And he was always inside. The only time he would come out is to play a little music or because the fellas call him out for little smoke.”

She said over the years, they would fight and make up but they never left one another. Also, she said George had a stepdaughter, her child, and the couple had a miscarriage about two months ago so she was having great difficulty dealing with his loss.

She added that they lived with Letren and two other people, including a baby boy but would not say whether or not she or the others were home when the incident occurred.

When Newsday visited the scene on Wednesday afternoon, there were only a few people liming by a nearby shop. One resident said most people were indoors. Some were terrified and traumatised while others were just being cautious although they were not particularly afraid anything would happen to them.

“All now you would have seen children outside playing or riding their bikes or people outside playing music but now everybody inside. This place was real nice for years. Now we gone back to scratch again.”

Tuesday’s murders were the third double homicide at Scorpion Alley since July 30. On that day, Neyland Glasgow and Dayna Joyles were killed and on August 14, Leon Sylvester and Elijah Brewster were shot dead.

When Newsday contacted Akeliah Glasgow, incumbent councillor for the area, she said had no comment and hung up before this reporter could do more than offer an introduction and mention Scorpion Alley. Further calls to her phone went unanswered.

This story was originally published with the title "Third double murder in Carenage" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

Two men were shot and killed at Scorpion Alley, Carenage on Tuesday night, in the third double murder in the area in less than three weeks.

Police said residents heard gunshots around 9 pm, lasting about three minutes, and made a report. When the police arrived, they were directed to a house where they found the bodies of "PH" taxi driver Joshua “Four & Forty” Fortune, 23, and security officer Israel Letren, 32.

Fortune had two addresses: Upper Abbe Poujade Street, Carenage and Davidson Drive, La Puerta Avenue, Diego Martin. Letren lived at the same Carenage address as Fortune.

The men had multiple gunshot wounds and were lying unresponsive on the floor of the kitchen and toilet areas. The district medical officer pronounced the men dead and ordered their bodies removed while the CSI team processed the scene and collected evidence.

Police believe the murders to be gang-related.

Tuesday’s murders were the third double homicide at Scorpion Alley since July 30. On that day, Neyland Glasgow and Dayna Joyles were killed, and on August 14, Leon Sylvester and Elijah Brewster were shot dead.

Investigations are continuing.