Clarendon cops saddened by vendor’s murder - Call on citizens to provide information
Head of the Clarendon police, Senior Superintendent Vendolyn Cameron-Powell, said the cops from the parish are saddened by the death of 60-year-old Patricia Harriot known to many as 'Pat', who was shot and killed in May Pen on Monday evening.
Speaking with CENTRAL STAR, Cameron-Powell said that it was a sad day for the force and the May Pen community on a whole, because Pat was a jovial woman who was a friend to everyone.
Very unfortunate
"She was a little lady probably about three feet tall. It is very unfortunate because we have known her for many years; she was very friendly and very nice. She is a friend of the police," she said.
Reports are that about 5:30 p.m. Monday, someone walked up to Pat's stall and shot her in the face.
Cameron-Powell said currently investigations are under way; however they are appealing to persons to come forward with information that can lead to an arrest.
"We are hearing of two conflicts, one in the centre with other vendors, and we are hearing of another in Cornpiece, another hotspot community. So we are not certain but we are investigating," she said. "We are calling on the citizens. If they know something, they need to assist us with the investigation. We are not only calling on citizens, we are calling on family members to assist us because these crimes are happening everywhere in Jamaica and the manner in which people are keeping away, make it hard for us to arrest more persons and we want to arrest more persons for crime."
Cameron-Powell described Pat as a unique person who would often put on a show to make people laugh.
She said that for such a small woman, she was harmless and the cops are perturbed as to why someone would hurt her.
"I spoke to her personally many times. She is always calling to us. You will see her and engage her more than a normal person. It is very sad. Sometimes music a play in the town and you see her putting on a dance for us to see. This lady little in stature; she can't do anybody anything at all, she is like a helpless person trying do her business," she said.