National Security Minister, Dr. Horace Chang, has warned criminals that they will be dealt with forcefully in situations where students are caught in a crossfire where weapons are being fired from different directions.
Chang was part of a ministerial team, which also included Education and Youth Minister, Fayval Williams, that visited Grange Hill High School in Westmoreland following the death of a 16-year-old teenage boy as he walked home from sports day activities earlier this month.
A 15-year-old female companion was also shot and injured during the attack.
Chang, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, told the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) News that the visit was to reassure school administrators, students, and all law-abiding residents that there is a zero-tolerance approach to criminal behaviour and that every effort will be utilised until the perpetrator is brought to justice.
“We are going to pursue the perpetrator relentlessly, whether he is young or old. We’re going to find (whoever that person is) and we’re going to remove him from the community,” Chang said.
The Education Minister said that the visit was also intended to send a signal to all stakeholders that “we are all in this together… and we are going to get this right.
“We do have things in terms of providing guidance and counselling for children who have issues. We also have to ensure and provide the necessary resources to our guidance counsellors for them to engage and identify issues before they escalate, and provide probable solutions,” she added.
Commissioner of Police, Dr. Kevin Blake, has vowed to protect students “inside and outside school corridors.
“Let me assure you that you will not be taking this journey on your own. We will be doing everything in our power to remove [those who are intent on breaking the law]. You are the future; do not be dragged into crime. Stay away from crime, criminality and gangsterism. It is not cool,” he told the students.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, May 10, CMC –
CMC/df/ir/2024