KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Education Youth and Information Senator Ruel Reid is denouncing Tuesday night’s murder of 16-year-old Cornwall College student, Mark Williams.

Williams was killed after gunmen ambushed his stepfather, a police corporal assigned to the Trelawny Police Department, and fired a barrage of bullets at them at the intersection of the Meadows of Irwin and Tucker in St James.

READ: Teen killed as gunmen ambush policeman

Reid, in a release from his ministry, said the “brazen killing of the teen demonstrates the blatant disregard that criminal elements in the country have for human life.”

The ministry informed that Williams, who was preparing for his School Based Assessment and looking forward to graduation in June, has been characterised as a bright, friendly and warm young man who had a passion for learning and was very involved in activities at school.

The school’s guidance counsellor Carlene Messado said Williams was an ambitious grade 11 teen who was the type of student every teacher would want in their classroom, respected not just by his teachers but also his peers, the ministry said.

The education minister is urging anyone who may have witnessed the incident to honour this young man’s memory by coming forward and telling the police what they know. This, he said, will assist in giving his family justice.

The ministry said trauma teams have been sent to both Cornwall College and also to Greenpond High where the boy’s mother is a teacher.

The ministry also said it will be maintaining dialogue with its trauma teams and school guidance counsellors as they deal with this tragic loss.