By: Staff Writer
August 16, 2024
Jamaica is under a State of Emergency for 14 days amid fears of escalating violence emanating from the Clarendon Parish as a result of last weekend’s massacre that killed eight despite the suspect having been shot by police officers.
“This is an opportunity for the government to mobilize fully to have a very serious focus on gangs,” Holness told a press conference at his office. “We cannot allow murders to be normalized in our country,” said Andrew Holness, Prime Minister.
Of the eight killed, one was a seven year old boy, who were all killed when gunmen fired indiscriminately at a birthday party in Cherry Tree Lane, Clarendon except for one who was gunned down in a separate incident.
The government did not immediately say what the emergency measures would include, but these can typically involve nightly curfews, longer detention periods without formal charges, and giving police the authority to search properties without warrants.
Holness added that he hoped the measure would prevent reprisal killings, saying intelligence had warned there was a “very high probability” of retaliation attempts.
Acting commissioner of police Fitz Bailey said the government’s response had been “swift and impactful”, with five already arrested and an illegal firearm seized.
The minister of national security, Dr Horace Chang, attributed the recent killings to an escalating turf war between gangs and said a similar state of emergency in the parish in November 2023 resulted in a 50% reduction in shootings.
Holness did not immediately detail what regulations would be imposed, but these can typically involve nightly curfews, longer detention periods without formal charges and the ability by police to search properties without warrants.
Holness said he hoped the measure would prevent reprisal killings, saying intelligence had warned there was a “very high probability” of retaliation attempts.
Local police fatally shot Steve Smith, who was considered one of the suspects in the Clarendon murders, during a confrontation on Wednesday, according to the Jamaica Observer.
“He was wanted by the May Pen police for murder for some time and was a person of interest in several other murder investigations,” local police said on Wednesday night.