‘They are terrorists’
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Prime Minister Andrew Holness, while condemning the murder of Justin Perry and Nahcoliva Smith, who were brutally gunned down while on their way home from school in a taxi, in Salt Spring St James, on Monday, is urging Jamaicans to stop extending “grace” to criminals.
“This country needs to stop sending mixed signals to criminals. They’re not going to return any grace you give them, they are not reasonable people. They are terrorists and they must be treated as such,” Holness said during a Post Cabinet Press Briefing Wednesday morning.
The Prime Minister also announced a State of emergency for the parish.
READ: SOE declared for St James
“This is not an ordinary crime. This is the worst of the worst…I am not here this morning to stir up the nation for vengeance…. Today we are going to respond not with vengeance… but to use the law with blunt force on them,” he added, calling the shooting an act of terrorism.
The prime minister went on to say that criminals do not respect “your human rights, they don’t respect your dignity and they don’t have no concern, none whatsoever for your safety and security.”
At the same time, Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson revealed that the shooter used an assault rifle to commit the crime.
Anderson said when he, along with other Government officials, visited the Salt Spring community on Tuesday, Nahcoliva and Justin’s parents were inconsolable.
READ: ‘It’s really hard’-Teachers weep for slain Chetwood Memorial Primary students
Earlier police reports showed that in Monday’s slaying of the students, about 5:20 pm, a taxi operator was driving his grey 2006 motor car from Salt Spring heading to Montego Bay with Justin and Nahcoliva on board. A third person, whom investigators believe was the target, was also killed during the attack.
