Three killed in Jamaican shootout

Gunmen in a troubled Kingston neighbourhood killed three men and firebombed five houses yesterday, Jamaican police said.

Gunmen shot and killed Chadwick Atkinson, 18, Omar Reynolds, 21, and Clarence Lewis, 49, in separate incidents at their homes in the Mountain View neighbourhood, police said in a statement.

In the latest shootings, 13 people - including a 10-year-old girl - have been killed in the fighting that broke out three weeks ago in the Mountain View area between rival gangs that support the governing People’s National Party and the opposition Jamaica Labour Party.

Some families living in areas that support the governing party had to flee their homes when homemade fire bombs were thrown at five houses, police said.

The recent wave of violence in Mountain View began in early September with the killing of a local political activist with ties to the opposition party.

Police presence was stepped up last night.

‘‘A number of efforts are being made to calm the area. We have a lot of work on our hands, but we are trying to get the situation under control,’’ said police spokesman Wayne Cameron.

Gang violence in some other Kingston neighbourhoods erupted in May, leaving 71 people dead in several weeks.

In July, 28 more people were killed in gunfights when police moved in to confront the gangs.

In another Kingston area, Maverley, police were investigating the police shooting death of 19-year-old Omar Wedderburn.

Police had said Wedderburn was killed Sunday when he shot at police, forcing them to shoot back.

However, some area residents claim Wedderburn was killed in his sleep, and some blocked a busy intersection in the area early Monday to protest Wedderburn’s shooting.

Gunmen and police officers exchanged gunfire during the protest, which caused some traffic accidents, said Deputy Superintendent Dalton Wright.