Just a day before the anniversary of the brazen shooting of seven persons outside a house at 25 Prince of Wales Street, near National Heroes Circle in central Kingston, residents of the area were again in mourning yesterday. This time they were weeping for a three-year-old boy who was burnt to death at the same location.

"Jesus Christ, the little baby dead," screamed a woman, as several residents tried to keep her from falling to the ground.

Firefighters had just emerged from the building with news that the burnt body of the infant had been found.

Mother shocked

It was just hours before that the residents had launched a frantic search for the boy, identified only as 'Junior' up to press time.

His mother, who had turned up after the fire started, was shocked when she got the news that her son could not be found.

"Let me go, let me go, mek mi go look fi him," she screamed, as she frantically fought to go into the flaming house to find the child.

The building, described by fire-fighters as "one large tenement yard", was home to some six families. Up to press time it was unclear what started the fire. However, residents claimed it was the work of an unruly child.

It took a total of five units from the Rollington Town, York Park and Trench Town fire stations to put out the blaze.