Beverly Hills resident Beverly Nurse, 38, widow of slain gang leader Mark Guerra, was killed with one gunshot to the back of the head at 2.30 pm yesterday. Wearing blue jeans and a grey and black sweater, her corpse lay on the steps of her well-stocked tuck shop. Her face was covered with a black and white shawl. Up to late yesterday, the gunman remained at large.
Meanwhile, shocked and angry residents emerged from the neighbourhood's streets. Traffic ground to a halt as curious motorists and passersby stopped to stare at the small mob gathered between Foster Street and Cook Street, St Joseph Road, Laventille. A few spilled over to the opposite side of the street–where the sign etched "Mark Guerra's Wall of Peace"–did not go unnoticed.
Residents said some of her children were around but they were reluctant to point them out. Both male and female residents expressed remorse at Nurse's death on the eve of Mother's Day. She is said to be the mother of seven. A group of females sat outside a corrugated gate weeping, drinking and swearing revenge at the perpetrators.
Spokesman for the group Ann Marie Inniss said, "That woman has children and small children. That woman has about seven children. Who could do that on the eve of Mother's Day? It is sad. People could say what they want about her. But she is a nice woman. She was a great woman to the community. Whoever do that to her, have to feel it too."Having heard the heart-rending news, Inniss said, "I was drinking a beer and when I heard Beverly dead, it fell out of my hand."
Flashback
The late Mark Guerra
Mark Guerra, 47, a top-ranking official of the Jamaat al Muslimeen, was gunned down in Wallerfield, on March 23, 2003. Guerra, known as Jaleel, was at his farm when he was visited by three of his workers. While standing near his BMW PBL 3311, Guerra let his guard down and was casual in the way he chatted with the workers.
A car with several men dressed in black and wearing ski masks pulled up and opened fire on the group. He was the main suspect in the 1989 car shooting of a vehicle transporting Zalayhar Hassanali, wife of former president Noor Hassanali, around the Queen's Park Savannah.