Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has ordered the security forces to intensify targeted operations against criminal gangs and their supporters following a deadly gunfight in Five Miles, near Sligoville in St. Catherine, that left two policemen and three civilians dead and a 10-year-old girl injured.
Holness, who returned to Jamaica on Saturday from a trip to New York, was briefed by Police Commissioner Dr. Kevin Blake on the incident, which unfolded on Friday and involved an hours-long standoff between police and armed men.
The deceased police officers have been identified as Corporal Trevoy Shaw and Constable Devoney Rose. The three civilians killed were identified as Errol Hussey, his son, Malique Hussey, and his nephew, Javoun Cogle.
Three male suspects were fatally shot during the confrontation. A 10-year-old girl was wounded, while other civilians inside the house reportedly escaped unharmed.
Holness described the attack on the police officers as an act of “calculated brutality” and “sheer evil,” saying preliminary accounts pointed to a coordinated effort by the gunmen to ambush the security forces.
According to the prime minister, the emerging accounts suggest that the gunmen used misdirection and diversionary gunfire before turning their weapons on officers who moved forward to retrieve a child reportedly being held hostage inside the house.
He said reports of possible prearranged transportation and support for the gunmen must also be thoroughly investigated.
“We must uncover and dismantle every person, every network, every resource, every facilitator who enabled this violence,” Holness said.
He urged the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) to use the full force of the law to dismantle criminal networks, emphasizing that those responsible for organized violence must be identified, disarmed, arrested and prosecuted.
Rejecting portrayals of gunmen as protectors of their communities, Holness said poverty, exclusion and social injustice could not justify criminal violence.
“They are not protectors; they are not justified by poverty, exclusion, or social injustice. They are not freedom fighters, they are not Robin Hoods, they are not rebels or misunderstood victims. They are parasites and pestilence upon our society,” he said.
The prime minister said the reported willingness of the gunmen to use members of their own household as human shields was particularly disturbing.
He also condemned those who shelter, finance or arm criminal groups, as well as those who glorify gunmen and illegal firearms.
“There can be no moral equivalency. There can be no romanticising of guns; no glorifying of gunmen; and no tolerance for those who shelter finance, arm, and celebrate them,” Holness said.
He offered condolences to the families of the slain officers and civilians, expressed hope for the injured girl’s full recovery, and said the incident underscored the need for Jamaica to remain vigilant against organized criminal violence.
Holness said the attack had shaken members of the security forces but had not weakened their resolve. He directed Blake to accelerate planned operations against gang leaders and other suspected criminals already being pursued through intelligence-led investigations.
“Bring them forward. Intensify it,” the prime minister said, adding that the government would discuss any additional resources needed to support the operations.
He warned that the incident pointed to a level of criminal organization that posed a threat to national security and said the response must be firm while maintaining the rule of law.
The National Security Council is scheduled to hold its regular monthly meeting this week, when the situation is expected to be reviewed.
Holness said the Five Miles incident must serve as a turning point in the country’s response to organized crime, arguing that the authorities must confront the threat directly without abandoning the principles of a civil society.
“And we must meet them head on. We must meet them head on and maintain our civility and the rule of law,” he said.
He ended his remarks with a warning to gunmen: “Tek weh unnuself!”
caribbeannationalweekly.com
