She ran for her life - Survivor still hears tiny footsteps of 4-y-o killed in Commodore massacre

Long after the gunfire stopped echoing through Commodore, Linstead, St Catherine, one sound refuses to leave the mind of a man who narrowly escaped Sunday night's massacre -- the light, hurried footsteps of four-year-old Shannon Gordon as she ran for her life.

"Mi mind a tell mi seh mi hear when her little foot run off," a shaken survivor said yesterday as he recalled the barrage of gunshots that ripped through the section of the yard where he had been standing beside the child.

"She was a precious little girl and yesterday (Sunday) she was very happy an eat her little jello. Poor little baby girl never deserve to dead. She just run because she see everybody a run and her little brain sense danger," a survivor said.

Moments earlier, Shannon had been full of laughter and life. The bubbly kindergarten student spent her Sunday afternoon playing in the yard. As evening approached, she stood among relatives and neighbours, savouring spoonfuls of jello -- a treat before bedtime. She was excited to return to Rosemount Primary and Infant School the next day to see her friends.

But before she could finish her jello or say goodnight, her tiny frame was caught in a rain of bullets. Cowards pretending to be cops entered her yard and unleashed mayhem. She was hit by gunfire, apparently in the back, as she attempted to flee.

According to police reports, the tragedy unfolded around 8:50 p.m. at the gate and yard of Glendon 'Bull' Amos, a 47-year-old man currently in custody for murder.

A group of men wearing police vests and hats approached a small crowd gathered outside a shop at the entrance to Amos' property. They ordered everyone to raise their hands and not move. But when panic set in and some began to run, the men opened fire, spraying bullets across the yard.

By the time the gunmen left, five people were dead -- including little Shannon -- and several others were injured. The other deceased have been identified as Mario Sullivan, 42; Iysha Washington, 39; Jushane Edwards, 19, and Famous Amos, 22. A dog was also killed in the attack.

When THE STAR visited the scene on Monday, silence hung heavily over the yard. Blood trails streaked the sidewalk, broken bottles glistened under the sun, and a small pink slipper lay in the dust -- a heartbreaking reminder of Shannon's final steps.

Inside a board dwelling nearby, a trembling survivor tried to gather his thoughts.

"Everybody just did outside a talk and an enjoy themselves. Mi did deh inna di yard and mi hear about two shots fire, and somebody seh 'Police, don't move!'," the survivor recalled.

Thinking the men were real cops, the man said he stood still, but quickly reassessed his decision when one of the gunmen shot the dog.

"As mi move off a bare shot mi hear a fire where the baby deh, and the baby did deh right side a mi," he recounted.

He said his legs buckled as he tried to flee, falling into a sand heap as bullets tore through the air.

"The way mi drop, it look like the gunman dem feel say a it dat fi mi," the survivor recounted.

In the harrowing moment, he managed to find refuge in a nearby house, which was covered in darkness.

The attack unfolded just steps away from the Mid Eastern Soroptimist Basic School and across from a small church. Yesterday, police and soldiers patrolled the community as stunned residents gathered in small groups, whispering about the horror that turned their peaceful Sunday into a night of terror.

Nearby stood two relatives, grieving the loss of Edwards.

"Him never deserve dis," a relative cried. "Mi bredda get shot, but probably dead of a heart attack the way him suppose to frighten. Him never deserve dis."