Green Bay Massacre - The Massacre

The Massacre

The operation was executed by undercover agents of the Military Intelligence Unit going into the Southside Community and infiltrating the Southsides' "POW Posse" which was a local gang operating in the area led by the now deceased Franklyn Allen aka "Chubby Dread". There were fourteen men in this gang who were originally targeted for neutralization. The men were promised guns and jobs in the military if they co-operated with the Government. The men, needing the arms and funding, agreed; and in the early hours of 5 January 1978 an army ambulance driven by an MIU operative picked them up at the intersection of Higholborn Street and Port Royal Street, then headed west towards Port Henderson, Saint Catherine where the Green Bay artillery range is located. On arrival at the Military Base, the men were led out to a section of the range where they were given strict instructions not to move as they would be picked up by other persons who would take care of their work requirements and supply them with arms. As soon as the MIU operatives drove off, a specially selected team of snipers from the JDF, led by Major Ian Robinson was lying in ambush in the nearby hills. The soldiers were armed with L8 General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), L2A2 Self Loading Rifles and Sterling Sub-Machine Guns. On the receipt of a pre-arranged signal from one of the MIU operatives which was the firing of a single shot from his Browning 9mm pistol, the sniper team opened fire on the group of men from their nest in the hills. Five men fell dead under the hail of gunfire and the remainder fled into nearby bushes. At least one entered the Bay and was rescued by a passing fishing boat.