'Enough is enough' - Holness condemns killing of St James primary schoolboys

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has condemned the killing three persons, including two primary schoolboys in St James last evening, saying when children are attacked, all of society "must stand up and say, 'enough is enough'". 

Justin Perry, seven and his nine-year-old schoolmate Nacholive Smith, of Chetwood Memorial Primary, and a man who remains unidentified, were shot and killed by gunmen while travelling in a taxi at around 6 p.m. near Meggie Top in the Flower Hill community near Salt Spring.

The boys were on their way from school.

Holness described the incident as a "senseless act of terror".

"This barbaric and merciless act of terror demonstrates once again that gunmen and gangs are a clear and present threat to the foundations of our free and democratic society," he said in statement Tuesday morning. "Through the wanton use of violence, gangs and gunmen hold entire communities hostage, depriving citizens of their economic livelihood and their rights to move, speak, and associate freely in their communities,"

Holness lamented that the response to "criminal terrorists ...must also contend with a narrative that oftentimes seems to offer greater protection to criminals with lighter sentences and preservation of their lives and freedoms, rather than supporting stronger punitive, proactive, and pre-emptive measures against these terrorists while securing redress and restoration for the victims". 

The administration has faced backlash from rights groups and the Opposition People's National Party over its use of rights-limiting states of public emergency in routine crime fighting, the pursuit of certain measures in relation to the constitutionally-guaranteed bail and the imposition of mandatory sentences for certain crimes.  

Holness said his administration will continue to invest in the security forces and pursue tougher laws to deal with the problem. 

The Salt Spring area is experiencing a gang feud. Four killings were recorded in the last two weeks in the community. 

Last Friday in St Andrew, gunmen shot and killed six-year-old Arianna Salmon, a grade one student of St Jude's Primary, along with her grandmother Marie Salmon, 42 and Michael Smith, 34. 

FULL STATEMENT BY PRIME MINISTER ANDREW HOLNESS ON THE KILLING OF TWO ST JAMES STUDENTS

Violence in all its forms is abhorrent and must be strongly condemned and punished; however, when violence touches our innocent children, who have their entire lives ahead of them, and robs our country of their potential, all of society must stand up and say, 'Enough is enough!'

Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of the victims of this senseless act of terror, and I am sure that all well-thinking Jamaicans are surrounding the grieving parents of the innocent children with prayers of support and comfort at this sad time.

This barbaric and merciless act of terror demonstrates once again that gunmen and gangs are a clear and present threat to the foundations of our free and democratic society. Through the wanton use of violence, gangs and gunmen hold entire communities hostage, depriving citizens of their economic livelihood and their rights to move, speak, and associate freely in their communities. They violate the ultimate right of every human being, the right to life. However, these gunmen choose to execute their wanton violence indiscriminately in public spaces and on innocent civilians, including children. This indiscriminate and random violence not only creates local fear, but also creates a national feeling of insecurity as the probability of being a victim rises for everyone. These gunmen and gang members are not mere criminals; they are like terrorists and should be treated as such.

It is unfortunate that we not only battle these criminal terrorists, but we must also contend with a narrative that oftentimes seems to offer greater protection to criminals with lighter sentences and preservation of their lives and freedoms, rather than supporting stronger punitive, proactive, and pre-emptive measures against these terrorists while securing redress and restoration for the victims. My administration will continue to invest heavily in increasing the capacity and capabilities of our security forces to intercept and interdict criminal terrorists. I have no doubt that the perpetrator of this act will be caught in short order by our police. However, this is after the fact of the loss of innocent lives. We must implement tougher measures to create greater deterrence against the commission of these acts of terror. This is why we have passed a new Bail Act and a new Firearms Act, which increased the penalty for the possession and use of illegal firearms. And this is why we have before Parliament an amendment to increase the scheme of penalty for murder.

We must speak with one voice in condemning this wanton and brutal murder of our children; likewise, we must also speak with one clear voice that we will apply the penalties with the greatest deterrent effect to the criminal terrorist to ensure that such senseless acts of terror never happen again. Enough is enough.

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