MONTEGO BAY, St James — Classmates of four-year-old Romaine Bowman will miss his hugs. On Monday they joined the rest of their Hilltop Basic School family in Pitfour, St James, to mourn the young boy who was fatally shot a few minutes into the new year as he lay in bed.

A probe has been launched into allegations that little Romaine was killed by the security forces as they searched for men armed with illegal guns.

On Monday, students, teachers, and administrative staff who were returning to school after the Christmas break struggled to come to grips with their loss.

“We love you Romaine Bowman. Gone too soon… We will never forget him,” read a handwritten note placed, with flowers, on the desk he used in kindergarten class three (KG-3) last year.

Grief enveloped his former teacher Charlene Watt-Hinds like a shroud.

“I’m going to miss him,” she told the Jamaica Observer. “He’s a very friendly child, very loving always going around and giving a hug.”

She explained that little Romaine needed extra support as he was a bit behind in class, and his mother had asked her to work closely with him.

“I try to give him special attention, and sometimes when I don’t call him to my table he would say, ‘Teacher, mi ready fi write!’” Watt-Hinds recalled.

“I would call him and tell him to come, and when he is finished he would feel like he was on top of the world,” she said with a bittersweet smile.

She wasn’t the only one with stories to tell of a life cut far too short. School Principal Missie Pennant told the Observer the young boy had made an impression on many who knew him.

“It’s hard to really come to grips with this, knowing that it is a child — one of our favourite students too, and the mother is very active at school here,” she said, her voice heavy with grief.

“I don’t know when we are going to get over this as a school and staff. Even the cook and the teacher for KG-1 [kindergarten class 1], he goes home with them when the mother isn’t able to carry him home. We are going to miss him,” added Pennant.

The educator said that shortly before little Romaine’s untimely demise, she and his mother Nambia McFarlane talked about paying for his uniforms and school fee.

“It is hard,” Pennant said, “to cope with his absence on top of the blow dealt by Hurricane Melissa.” Sections of the school building were destroyed by the Category 5 storm on October 28.

“It was devastating; and then to hear that a student died in this manner? It’s rough,” Pennant said. “I’d encourage people to be strong. God is a God of strength and favour,” she urged.

Among those who needed encouragement the most was Romaine’s mom. She spoke briefly with the
Observer during her visit to the school which is not far from her Brown’s Lane house in Granville where her son was killed.

“Mi feel like mi [a] go mad,” McFarlane said of the anguish that has had her in a vice-like grip since her child’s death.

As she sat in what was once her son’s classroom, embraced by his former classmates, she could barely hold back the tears. McFarlane soaked up the outpouring of love and the prayer offered by pastor of Pitfour Church of God in Jamaica, Reverend Michael Dixon.

The man of the cloth also provided words of comfort for students and staff.

For school Chairman Lambert Robinson, Romaine’s death is all the more tragic because he was killed at home.

“It’s a sad occasion for our school and the church community because home and school ought to be the safest zones for our children,” he said.

“We recognise this as an unfortunate situation but as a school we are going to try and support, as much as we can, the children, the staff, and the family,” Robinson added.

According to the official report from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Romaine died while being treated at hospital on New Year’s Day. Also arising from the joint police/military operation, a 68-year-old woman received treatment for injuries and two men were pronounced dead at hospital. The police said a high-powered rifle was seized during their operation. Hours after, angry residents took to the streets of Granville in protest.

The incident occurred when the security team responded to reports of explosions and gunfire in Brown’s Lane. It was not clear whether the explosions were gun salutes marking the start of 2026.

Reverend Michael Dixon of Pitfour Church of God in Jamaica consoles Nambia McFarlane, mother of four-year-old Romaine Bowman at Hilltop Basic School. At right is Missie Pennant, principal of the school, which Romaine attended until his tragic death on New Year’s Day.

The handwritten note placed, with flowers, on the desk which four-year-old Romaine Bowman used last year.