Jamaica schoolboy critically injured after Police shooting

Jamaica: An eighth-grade student from Cedric Titus High School is currently hospitalised in critical condition after being shot by a uniformed policeman on the night of Sunday, April 12. Reportedly, the boy sustained life-threatening injuries to his kidney and intestine. 

The victim has been identified as a 13-year-old eighth-grade student at Cedric Titus High School in Jamaica. He is a resident of Rio Bueno, Trelawny, in Jamaica. 

According to police reports, the incident took place on Sunday night, Rio Bueno, Trelawny, when the boy was on the rooftop of a bar which adjoins his home where the uniformed police officer was also present. The officer suddenly pulled out his revolver without any provocation and opened fire in the child’s direction, striking him one shot in the stomach. 

After being shot, the child ran to his mother and told her that he had been shot, following which the boy was taken to nearby hospital where he remains in a critical condition. The doctors suggested that the boy sustained injuries to his lungs and kidney and needed urgent blood.

The incident was reported to the Jamaican police force, reacting to which the officers attached to the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has officially launched their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident to determine the reason behind the shooting. 

The uniformed office has since been detained by the officers and are actively cooperating with the ongoing investigation. During the question-answer session, the suspect claimed that when he was at the bar, he saw a gun in a child's hand which forced him to open fire at him. 

Authorities stated that detectives have already initiated their investigation into the matter following their visit to the victim in the hospital. They also urged the people to donate blood to the child as he is in urgent need of 16 bags of blood. 

Notably, the aunt of the child victim claimed that “the victim was shot without any provocation and that all the allegations on him are false.” She also confirmed that “after the incident some police officers came and forcefully took mobile phones of the child and his mother without any explanation.”

The investigation into the incident is ongoing and further details will be disclosed when it becomes available.