News

Bus driver shot dead

By MICHAEL MCLEAN, Star Writer

SANTA CRUZ

A BUS DRIVER was shot dead in front of passengers by a gunman while a school and a businessplace were broken into in Lacovia, St. Elizabeth. All this happened between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Dead is 42-year-old Eldarado 'Sunny Ranks' Ranking of Three Miles River, Westmoreland. He plied the Savanna-la-Mar to Kingston route.

The Lacovia police reported that at about 3:45 a.m., the deceased was driving his white Toyota Hiace minibus to Kingston when on reaching the vicinity of the Lacovia Primary School he was signal to stop by a would be passenger.

The police said the would be passenger entered the bus where he fired three shots which hit the driver in the head and upper body. He was rushed to the Black River Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

While this was happenning thieves were breaking into the Lacovia Primary School and a tyre shop in the district.

Police say the thieves broke off a mesh above the window to the tuck shop at the school where they entered and stole four cases of sodas. When THE STAR visited the scene, the four cases of sodas were seen outside the school building. A teacher at the school said the robbers might have fled when they heard an explosion nearby the school.