KINGSTON, Jamaica—The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) has condemned the killing of three-year-old Zaylon Pinnock, who was fatally shot during a gun attack at his home in Denham Town, Kingston Saturday morning.

Chief Executive Officer of the CPFSA Laurette Adams-Thomas in a media statement described the incident as a devastating reminder of the growing brutality affecting Jamaica’s children.

“The killing of a three-year-old child in such a vicious and callous manner is beyond heartbreaking; it is unconscionable. When our babies become victims of gun violence, it signals a dangerous moral decline within our society. We cannot normalise or become numb to these atrocities. Our children are to be protected, nurtured and cherished; not harmed and killed like animals,” she said.

Adams-Thomas further noted that this tragedy follows closely on the heels of another devastating incident less than two weeks ago, in which a four-year-old girl in Manchester was killed in a gun attack that also left her father injured.

“These repeated attacks against our youngest and most vulnerable citizens should shake us to our core as a nation. Every child’s life is sacred. As a country, we must examine what it says about us when our children are murdered and buried before they have had a chance to live. We all share a collective responsibility to safeguard Jamaica’s children,” she added.

The agency said its first responders will be engaging the family to provide grief counselling and any additional social interventions required to support them through this traumatic period.

“Even as we speak out against this horrific act, the CPFSA is equally committed to standing with this family in their time of grief. Our first responders will be working closely with them to provide grief counselling and any other necessary psychosocial support that they need to help them navigate this unimaginable loss. While we cannot undo what has been done, we can ensure that they are not left to bear this pain alone,” Adams-Thomas said.

The police have listed two persons of interest in connection to the killing of the three-year-old, who along with his father and another child were attacked by gunmen at their home on Nelson Street, Denham Town early Saturday morning.

They have been identified only as ‘Juby’ and ‘Romy’, who are said to be members of the Scream Corner gang. They are being asked to turn themselves over to the Denham Town Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) within 24 hours.

READ: Police name persons of interest in killing of 3-y-o in Denham Town