The St Ann police are theorising that Wednesday’s brazen fatal stabbing incident in Ocho Rios, St Ann was linked to a domestic conflict.

That’s according to Head of the parish’s police, Senior Superintendent Dwight Powell.

Speaking to OBSERVER ONLINE, where questions were asked about the effectiveness of the State of Public Emergency, which has been declared in the parish, SSP Powell sought to assure residents that the SOE is working, noting that it is difficult for the security forces to prevent domestic conflicts.

READ: Manhunt launched after man stabbed to death in Ocho Rios

“So we had an incident at Ocean Village Shopping Centre from some time about 2:50 pm on [Wednesday] where two young men were involved in an altercation, domestic situation. So they were involved in that incident and brought knives into play – both of them. During the process, one was fatally wounded,” he said.

The attacker in that incident has been taken into custody pending charges.

While he did not give details on the domestic link to the incident, noting that it will be revealed at a later date, the police chief said the incident does not mean the crime measure is not effective”.

“We continue to endorse the State of Public Emergency as we welcome the tools that it gives us. We continue our relentless pursuit of the criminal elements that continue to cause crime and violence in this parish. What we want to assure law-abiding residents of St Ann and those who visit our parish is that the security force that you have in St Ann, we know what we need to do and we continue to do what is necessary to ensure that law and order is maintained,” SSP Powell said

He added: “I am satisfied from where I am seated that we are doing what is necessary at this time to bring law and order in the parish of St Ann last, so we assure our stakeholders that we continue to work assiduously to ensure that the parish remains safe.”

The incident follows the recent report by the commanding officer that domestic violence murders accounted for a third of all murders committed in the parish in 2022.

SSP Powell further sought to instil calm in the residents, noting that the town areas in the parish will continue to be targeted with the use of the SOE.

“What I can assure the public is that, and I want to say too, the police cannot be everywhere at the same time. We are prioritising and we are treating the areas of concern. The areas of concern include our town centres, but the town centres are not small and so we cannot be at every inch of our town centres at the same time. But we continue to do our best,” he said.

Since last Wednesday’s implementation of the SOE in St Ann, two murders have so far been recorded in the parish. Last Friday, 31-year-old chef Miguel Hyman was gunned down by unknown assailants in Pimento Walk in the parish, followed by Wednesday’s stabbing incident where a man identified by his alias ‘Haitian’ was stabbed to death.