Jamaica Police Step Up Presence As Several Areas Remain Tense Following Several Murders

KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – Jamaica police say six men are assisting in their investigations into the murder of an 11-year-old school girl as the West Kingston constituency remains tense from the murder and violence last week.

Senior Superintendent, Ronald Anderson, who heads the police division in the area, said the police increased their presence in West Kingston after gunmen shot six people, two fatally, within a 12 hour period.

Tassanique ‘Daenia’ James, 11, was killed on Thursday while 49 year-old businessman, Hector Wilson, was killed 12 hours later.

The schoolgirl was among a group of people when a group of men fired upon them.

In the aftermath of the incident, the community of Denham Town has been placed under a curfew, and on Monday, the police announced that the curfew would be extended for at least another 48 hours.

Member of Parliament Desmond McKenzie has offered a J$300,000 (US$ 1.00 = J$0.01) reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for Tassanique’s murder.

“The residents are concerned about the violence in the area and are asking the police to increase their presence,” he said, adding that a “number of innocent people have been affected by this latest bout of shooting, and it’s not something that we can really tolerate much longer”.

McKenzie said his constituency organization will also foot the bill for her funeral.

Meanwhile, the police have also been keeping a close watch on the town of Linstead in the central parish of St. Catherine, with Police Commissioner Owen Ellington ordering an increase in the police presence there in an effort to contain the upsurge of violence in the area.

Ellington in a statement said the increased police operations were aimed at “disrupting lucrative criminal activities over which gang members continue to wage battle”.

The police believe that gang conflict over the sharing of criminal proceeds is at the root of the violence which has so far resulted in three murders, two of which occurred Sunday.

Investigators have released the names of several people wanted for questioning in relation to the violence and Commissioner Ellington urged the public to cooperate with law enforcement authority.