The Member of Parliament for the constituency in which the killings occurred, Denise Daley, expressed outrage and condemned the killing, while Deputy Commissioner in charge of Crime, Fitz Bailey, said security in Tryall Heights will be increased as a result of the killings.

Media reports said that the unknown number of gunmen barged into the home of the senior citizen, Iciline McFarlane, about 4:30 pm (local time) and shot her and her granddaughters, 10 year-old Christina McFarlane and six year-old Mishane, several times before escaping in a waiting car.

They all died at the scene. The children were students of the Spanish Town Primary School and their father, whose name was not given, said he was at a loss as to why they were killed.

Councillor for the area, Keisha Lewis denounced the murders, saying “we have to revisit the community policing aspect of the thing and more police need to be here, as last week one was murdered and now three more”.

Last weekend, National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang praised the efforts of law enforcement authorities and other stakeholders in the decline in crime in St. James, a suburban parish, located on the north-west end of the island.

“We have made significant gains in the parish and those gains have come because of a number of operational initiatives, which I think, need to be pointed out to all of Jamaica, along with the high level of performance by the officers in this division, who have demonstrated a high level of professionalism, commitment and hard work,” Dr. Chang said.

Data from the Ministry indicates that during the 281-day period from November 11, 2019 to August 17, 2020, murders dropped by 24 per cent to 93.

For the 92-day period between the lifting of the SOE on August 17 to November 17, 2020, there have been 27 murders, 29 shooting incidents, and 19 illegal firearms recovered.

CMC