A man who earlier this week allegedly abducted and raped a 14-year-old schoolgirl, was on Friday chopped to death by an angry mob in a rural community near Moneague, St Ann.
This was after the man had abducted a woman’s two-year-old child and fired shots at residents in the rural St Ann community of Gray Wood district, Castle Kelly.
The deceased is 37-year-old Orando Coward, otherwise called ‘Teo’, from Gray Wood in the parish.
The bizarre series of criminal events carried out by Coward began early Tuesday morning when the man allegedly abducted the 14-year-old schoolgirl in Gray Wood.
It was reported that she was abducted while she was waiting on a taxi, and Coward took her to a premises, where she was sexually assaulted.
The teenager managed to escape from her attacker and raised an alarm. She was taken to the hospital, where she was treated.
The police conducted operations in the area, but Coward eluded the law enforcers.
In an audio statement, Head of the St Ann police, Senior Superintendent Dwight Powell, provided details on Friday’s incidents, which culminated in Coward’s death at the hands of residents.
Powell said that at about 7am on Friday, Coward broke into a dwelling house in the community and attempted to abduct an eight-year-old girl.
“The mother of this child challenged and wrest her daughter from him. Coward, instead, abducted her two-year-old son and took him into bushes,” Powell explained.
The child’s mother raised an alarm, and residents pursued Coward. They eventually rescued the young boy from the accused.
Following that incident, Coward then returned to the Castle Kelly community, and pointed a firearm at residents.
“… Residents, in a bid to repel his (Coward’s) attack, inflicted several wounds on him, killing him on the spot,” Powell informed.
Some of those wounds were reportedly chop wounds.
Two illegal firearms – a shotgun and a homemade handgun – were subsequently recovered from Coward, Powell reported.
Meanwhile, Powell said the St Ann Victim’s Support Unit, the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), and local religious leaders are all carrying out interventions in the community.
“Again, we want to use this medium to say and reassure people, especially in the rural communities, that the police in St Ann continue to do our endeavour best to ensure that your communities are kept safe, and we would rather you not assume the role of the police,” Powell stated.
“Leave these official functions to us,” he pleaded.
