Police are investigating the murder of a 20-year-old man in Salem, Runaway By, one of two gun slayings in the small community in four days.
Dead is Deniel Creary, hotel worker of Salem and Gibraltar, St Ann. Creary was shot dead Saturday night, January 14, by men who chased him.
The second murder in Salem was that of Alfred Whorms, businessman shot dead Wednesday.
Inspector Desmond McIntosh in charge of the Runaway Bay police said Creary was not robbed or anything and it appeared the motive was not robbery. He refused to label the shooting as a hit as others were saying it was.
WORKED IN MOBAY
Creary, a past student of Brown’s Town High, had moved from his family home in Somerton, Gibraltar, near Brown’s Town to Salem, last year where he resided with a female relative. He had been employed for several months to Ibero Star Resort, Rose Hall, St James.
Reports to the North Coast Times are that Creary had gone to Ibero Star earlier that day, Saturday, but was not assigned to work and returned to Salem, St Ann. It is reported he had stopped near the main road to watch a domino game and left for home somewhere around 10 o’clock. Further reports are that he was nearing home when he was approached by a gunman. Creary ran and was shot at. It’s not clear if he was hit with the first bullet. He ran to his house and began banging on the grill and shouting out the name of his relative. The chasing gunman entered his yard and Creary had to take flight, running to the back of the yard as the gunman caught up with him. Creary was shot multiple times and died on the scene.
(The young man’s mother who spoke to the North Coast Times last week said Deniel Creary was her only son. She said, “He was always smiling. He loved his family.” She said his dream was always to make her proud. “He does things to make his mother proud.” She said she was having a hard time understanding why someone would want to kill him.
Creary’s mother said she was in shock as was the female relative. The relative had called her on the Saturday night saying, “Dem kill yuh son. Dem kill yuh pickney.”
Persons who spoke to the North Coast Times said the Runaway Bay and Salem communities were on edge with the two murders within days of each other. They said crime was increasing since last year.
Asked about the concerns of people in the area, Inspector McIntosh said there was no upsurge of crime. He said police were investigating the latest murders and appealed to people from the communities to cooperate with the police. Inspector McIntosh who has been in charge for just over a month said he and his team were doing all they could to protect and serve the people of the area.
