KINGSTON, Jamaica—The E-commerce National Delivery Solution team (ENDS) has expressed condolences to the relatives and friends of jerk chicken vendor, Cavan Davis, who was gunned down at his establishment in Portmore, St Catherine over the weekend.

In a statement, the ENDS team revealed that Davis was one of the first vendors to participate in its programme and that it is saddened by the news of his murder.

“The ENDS team was devastated to learn of Cavan Davis’ tragic passing. On behalf of the team, I would like to take this opportunity to express my condolences to his family and friends. Of course, the JCF is conducting their investigations and we will await any further information surrounding the ordeal leading to his death. Many in Portmore showed great support for his business and I’m sure he will be missed,” Amashika Lorne, Project Manager of ENDS shared.

According to police reports, Davis was shot and killed by unknown assailants while he was at his jerk chicken establishment bout 9:45 pm. The police were summoned and arrived on the scene to find the vendor lying on his back on the ground. He was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Investigations are ongoing.

In a release, Lorne and her team used the opportunity to highlight that they are aware of media reports alleging that robbers pretending to be couriers on ENDS have been targeting the Portmore area. They shared that currently there are more than 550 vendors and entities registered to operate on the ENDS and the safety of each member is of utmost importance.

With that said, ENDS conceptualisers shared that they do not take recent allegations lightly and will be doing everything to ensure the safety of their participants including regular meetings with the JCF about hot spots and areas that should be excluded for operations/deliveries as well as requiring for payment to de done digitally whether the vendor is a pan chicken man or restaurant.

Lorne urged customers to “discontinue or refrain from giving cash to couriers who may be in possession of an approval letter to carry out orders during the curfew hours” as this not only “makes them targets for criminals, but it contravenes the mechanics put in place to operate a digital solution for the safety of individuals duly approved on the programme.”

In the meantime, employees are being encouraged to display all the requisite documents that are outlined as being mandatory while operating during the curfew hours. According to the release, any employee that has been terminated and found to be abusing a digital or physical copy of an invalid approval certificate will be eligible for prosecution under the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA).