KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Police Wednesday said they had arrested five people following last Sunday’s brutal attack on a party in Clarendon, south of here, that left eight people, including a two-year-old child, dead and several others injured.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Fitz Bailey told a news conference that investigations to date have also revealed that the incident is linked to other murders as well as having an international link.
Those killed have been identified as 27-year-old cosmetologist Kavel Daley, 50-year-old construction worker Lawrence Francis, 20-year-old cashier Diamond Bennett, and eight-year-old Aiden Bartley, a student of Four Path Primary.
In addition, Errol Stewart, a 58-year-old butcher; Jermaine Boothe alias “Blacks,” Courtney Messam alias “Dummbie,” and a woman identified only as Margaret were also shot and killed.
Police said that a one-and-a-half-month-old baby was among those injured, and Bailey said high-powered rifles and handguns were used in the attack. Watch video
“The recent murders…have left our nation in shock. And grief. The brutal and indiscriminate killings of eight innocent people, including a child and three women, as well as the injuring of nine others, including a baby, have troubled the minds of decent law-abiding citizens here and abroad.
“This is not normal, and no self-respecting country will ever accept this,” Bailey said, adding that the response to this “heinous crime has been swift and impactful.”
He said investigators have since an illegal firearm “and apprehended at least five persons,” including one person who surrendered on Tuesday.
Bailey said that law enforcement agencies continue to work “tirelessly “ to uncover the truth and ensure that those responsible are accountable under the rule of law.
“Our investigation has made significant progress, revealing connections to at least six previous violent incidents in Clarendon,” he said, noting that these incidents included a quadruple murder in 2021, a murder committed on April 21, 2024, and a subsequent shooting and arson on April 25.
Bailey said that the other incidents include a murder on April 29 this year, another on May 11 well, and a murder killing that was committed on May 15.
“Unfortunately, our findings indicate that these local violent issues have international roots and incorporate local players, some of whom are incarcerated. These individuals, who were once friends in Jamaica, had a falling out in the United States over illegally obtained gains, leading to each taking homicidal contracts to incite fear and terror,” Bailey told reporters.
He said criminal actors in prison were contacted to facilitate these contracts through their criminal networks ‘resulting in the senseless bloodshed here in Jamaica.
“We are committed to removing those responsible from our streets and restoring public confidence and trust and our ability to keep Jamaica safe,” the senior police officer told reporters.
He said it is essential “for us to isolate those responsible wherever they are to offer our public the level of safety …needed.
‘We are mindful of the likely reprisals that could take place in several areas within and outside of Clarendon. I want to assure the public that the security forces will use all resources available to mitigate any threat or reprisal and will be available to use other legislative tools that are available to us,” Bailey added.
Download video – Jamaica’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Fitz Bailey
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