MONTEGO BAY, St James — Custos of St James Bishop Conrad Pitkin is calling on Jamaicans to speak in unison against the violence which has gripped the nation.

His call comes as he condemned the brutal gun slaying of two Chetwood Memorial Primary School students in a taxi in their gritty Salt Spring inner-city community while they headed home last Monday.

Tevin Hayle, 26, a labourer of Salt Spring — who is alleged to have been the target of the shooters — was also cut down in a hail of bullets that rained down on the cab during the macabre incident.

“As a parent and the first citizen of this parish, my heart bleeds. And I ask what kind of cold-hearted, brute beasts are these persons who snuff out the lives of these young males. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for us as a nation to speak with one voice,” Pitkin lamented.

“It would be remiss of me not to mention the recent spate if violence in our beloved and beautiful parish, especially the brutal and barbaric killing of eight-year-old Justin [Perry] and nine-year-old Nahcoliva [Smith],” he added.

Pitkin was bringing greetings at the grand opening of the Barnett Business Centre in Montego Bay, last Thursday evening.

Pitkin called on St James business interests not to be deterred in the face of violence but to bond together to arrest it.

“I call upon the business community of St James not to be daunted by what has happened, not to be discouraged, but let us stand strong, let us be resolved and we will win the battle,” Pitkin said.

“We, together as a people, will bring our beautiful parish to some semblance of decency. The time has long gone when we must stand together and unite as a people and fight the scourge of crime and violence in our nation. Let us be united, everyone of us until justice is brought to the country,” he added.

Barnett Business Centre is a US$15-million development by Montego Bay businessman Mark Kerr Jarrett.

The project was envisioned in 2018 and construction began in early 2020 but was shuttered for a short period due to COVID-19 but restarted in November 2020.

The establishment is a new, safe, secure and convenient business centre with adequate parking, which serves all of Montego Bay and especially the surrounding residential communities whose residents no longer need to drive into town or Fairview to access services.