(Jamaica Observer) The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, in condemning two shooting attacks in Clarendon that left two children and a woman dead, urged Jamaicans to speak out against perpetrators.
Grange, in a media release yesterday, said there could be no justification for the “cold, calculated and despicable attacks,” which took place within a 24-hour period.
“It requires all of us to end the violence; we have to say what we know and help to convict the perpetrators. We have to become informers. We cannot stay silent,” Grange said.
Friday morning, a six-year-old boy, Timothy Basaragh, was shot dead in the community of Farm after men reportedly entered his home and opened fire hitting him in the throat and head. His mother was also shot in her hand.
The shooting followed Thursday night’s incident in Race Course that left three individuals, including a high school student, dead after gunmen opened fire at patrons in a restaurant and bar.
Those killed have been identified as 13-year-old Shaneil Bartley, who was a student of Central High School, 24-year-old bartender Amoy Ricketts and Randy Ranger.
Grange said the other victims are in her prayers and has mandated the Bureau of Gender Affairs to work with other state agencies in providing support to those affected by the attacks.
In reference to data released by the Jamaica Constabulary Force just this week showing that more than 900 murders had been committed in Jamaica up to August 12, the minister urged the communities and anyone with information about the attacks to “work with the police to find the perpetrators and put them away because no one will be safe as long as the killers are free.”
