KINGSTON, Jamaica – Following the brutal murder of eight-year-old Danielle Rowe, the Lay Magistrates’ Association of Jamaica (LMAJ) says the country has “plunged into the dark abyss”.

Rowe was abducted from the Braeton Primary School in Portmore, St Catherine on Thursday and later found with her throat slashed in Vineyard Town, St Andrew.

She passed away sometime after 3 am at hospital on Saturday.

READ: 8-y-o who was abducted, throat slashed has died

The LMAJ described Rowe’s murder as “quite disturbing”.

“… As a country, we are not just bleeding from a cut, we are bleeding from the deep paralysing wounds of violence against our men, our women and now more than ever, our children,” LMAJ said in a statement.

The Association is urging Jamaicans to speak out against violence towards children.

“The LMAJ condemns this heartless murder and we urge all well-thinking Jamaicans to not just feel the hurt and murmur in your private space, but to make your voices heard condemning these brutal acts against our children. Let us not allow criminals to harm our children, who are the future of our country, instead let us do everything to protect them,” the statement read.

The LMAJ says it supports all legal protests against these acts of barbarity.

“Let us, as a nation, stand for something or fall to these acts of evil,” LMAJ added.

The St Andrew Central and St Catherine South police divisions have launched an investigation into the child’s death.

The police say they are pursuing several lines of inquiry into the events that lead to the girl’s death.

READ: Police launch cross-divisional investigation following death of 8-y-o student