WESTERN BUREAU — The Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) has been called in to probe Friday night’s police shooting of a 14-year-old boy in Negril, Westmoreland, following a demonstration that turned violent.

Three cops, including the alleged shooter, were injured and several police vehicles and business places, including the National Commercial Bank and the area post office, were damaged during the demonstration.

Police identified the dead teenager as Omari Wedderburn, a student of Negril’s West End, saying he was shot in the head when the constable’s service revolver went off.

“The constable has been relieved of his service revolver and the relevant statements from eyewitnesses are being collected by the Bureau of Special Investigations,” Constabulary Communication Network officer, Constable Damian Ricketts, told the Sunday Observer yesterday.

Reports said that at about 10:00 pm the police were called to a fracas along the West End main road involving a fruit vendor and three young men who were allegedly using stones to damage the vendor’s produce. When the police — a male corporal and a female constable — arrived, the three men were nowhere to be seen. But as soon as they left, the police were called back to the scene following reports that the men had returned.

One of the young men was pointed out to the police officers and when they tried to apprehend him, an unruly mob demanded the young man’s release. One member of the mob reportedly tried to wrestle the young man away from the cops.

A third officer was called to assist his colleagues. The crowd, among whom was Wedderburn, allegedly attempted to relieve the cop of his service revolver.

“We are told that an individual in the crowd tried to relieve the constable of his service pistol when a struggle ensued. During the struggle, two rounds were discharged, one of which hit Omari in the head,” the CCN officer told the Sunday Observer.

The boy was taken to the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The mob reportedly went wild, throwing bottles and stones at the police. The corporal received an injury to the right shoulder while the female constable was hit by a stone to the left side of the face, causing a swelling.

They had to flee the scene in the police jeep which was damaged in the melee. The constable, who allegedly did the shooting escaped in his private motor vehicle.

Using an assortment of debris, the mob later mounted roadblocks along the West End road and set about destroying a number of business places in the area.

Among the business places damaged were the National Commercial Bank located on the Sunshine Village Shopping Centre, which was bottle-torched.

“The NCB branch suffered fire damage to the manager’s office, paintings, walls, computers, furniture and all windows,” a release from the bank said.

The branch will, however, be opened for business tomorrow.

Kenric Davis, manager of the shopping complex and head of the Negril Chamber of Commerce, has, in the interim, condemned the actions of the mob.

“Our people have to try to be cool, to be calm in these happenings,” Davis told the Sunday Observer. “Damaging people’s property is not helping. You lose public support like that.

“It is not doing any good for tourism and Negril is predominantly about tourism. If you kill the goose that lays the golden egg what’s going to happen… I think what happened this morning is basically an indictment on our people,” the chamber president added.