ST CATHERINE, Jamaica —Principal of Rosemount Primary and Infant School Malaika Sinclair-Bailey has expressed gratitude for the support the school community has been receiving since the tragic death of a four-year-old student of the institution on Sunday in a shooting incident in Commodore, Linstead, St Catherine.

“We want to thank all the stakeholders who would have come to our school to support us during this grieving time. We especially want to thank the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), the Ministry of Education and all community personnel who are on site this morning to see to it that our children are well adjusted. Our children are buoyant this morning. Some are crying. However, they are comforted by all our visitors. And we pray that as a community, we can rally together for the betterment of our children. Thank you so very much to all the persons who continue to pray for our school, who continue to support our school and together, we can make Jamaica a safer place for our children,” Sinclair-Bailey said.

She noted that the classmates of the four-year-old, who have been grieving, have become much more focused through the continued support.

“Yes, specifically her classmates, they were crying, but they are much more, much more focused now as they get the continued support. The senior students especially realise what has transpired and they are being encouraged and supported at this time,” she added.

Reports are that armed men, posing as police, attacked a family yard on Sunday in the Commodore community leaving nine people shot, five of them fatally, including a four-year-old child.

The incident reportedly unfolded at approximately 8:45 pm on Sunday, when several men, some reportedly wearing police-style vests, descended on the premises along Commodore main road. According to police reports, the attackers rushed into the yard and opened fire on the occupants.

(Video: Llewellyn Wynter)