Kingston – Police have detained one man in connection with the murders of two children, including an eight-year-old child, Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang has said.
In a statement, Chang said the unidentified man was held Thursday by the police during an operation and was reportedly in possession of a firearm at the time of his arrest in Denham Town. The statement said that another firearm was seized.
Eight-year-old Toya Brown and 15-year-old Nyron Taylor in Denham Town, West Kingston were shot and killed in separate incidents on Wednesday.
Chang said the arrest is as a result of improved mobility and increased use of technology and that the police were able to act swiftly and make an arrest in connection with the killings.
“A critical element to successful crime-fighting operations is police mobility,” Chang said, adding “it should never be that our ability to tackle crime is retarded by immobility while ensuring the safety and security of our citizens.”
The National Security Minister said that in response to the alarming tendency for people to resort to violence, the ministry will be ramping up its anti-violence campaign, and will work alongside the National Commission on Violence Prevention to provide a comprehensive review of the Government’s violence prevention strategies.
He described the murders as an unfortunate situation which is not a part of the national culture.
Opposition spokesman on National Security, Fitz Jackson, has called for Prime Minister Andrew Holness to address the country regarding the rise in murders and shootings, noting that despite the threat of the novel coronavirus, (COVID-19) violent crimes continue to increase daily and the situation is “past alarming”.
Children’s Advocate, Diahann Gordon Harrison, has condemned the killing of four children in the Kingston West Police Division in the last two weeks, adding that the murders are a wake-up call that the ills that plague Jamaica as a society are alive and well.
More than 400 people have been murdered in Jamaica since the start of the year. (CMC)
