Education
JAM | Jun 21, 2022

‘We cannot continue this way’: Williams condemns killing of mother, 4 children in Clarendon

Juanique Tennant

Juanique Tennant / Our Today

Reading Time: 2 minutes
Minister of Education and Youth, Fayval Williams.

Following news of this morning’s (June 21) brutal killing of four children and their mother in the community of New Road, Clarendon, Education Minister Fayval Williams says “We cannot continue in this way”.

Upon her visit to the area this morning, Williams decried the killing as a “heartless, dastardly and evil act”, stating, “We are slaughtering the future of our nation.”

Dead are Kemeisha Wright and her four children: 15-year-old, Kimana Smith, 10-year-old, Shemari Smith, five-year-old, Kafana Smith and 23-month-old, Kishaun Henry.

Police Commissoner Major General Antony Anderson speaks with Fayval Williams, minister of education and youth, on the scene of the massacre in Clarendon today (June 21). (Photo: Facebook @Jamaica Constabulary Force)

According to the minister, the eldest, Kimana, was a student of the Edwin Allen High School, while Shemari and Kafana were students of the Beulah Primary and Infant School.
 
“This is very distressing and I am imploring anyone with information to share this with the police. We must stop the bloodletting,” pleaded Williams.

Rosalee Gage-Grey, CEO of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency.


In the meantime, Rosalee Gage-Grey, CEO of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), who is also currently on-site in New Road, shared that the Agency has dispatched a team of first responders to provide support to the families and the schools affected.
 
“The CPFSA also condemns the brutal killing of these young people,” said Gage-Grey. “Barbaric acts of this nature involving children are particularly distressing especially as we have recently exited Child Month.”

The CPFSA CEO renewed calls for all Jamaican citizens to ensure the care and protection of the nation’s children.

The agency continues to encourage Jamaicans to report known or suspected cases of child abuse to 211 – a dedicated, 24-hour child abuse reporting hotline.
 
Persons may also WhatsApp/Text: 876-878-2882, e-mail [email protected] or visit any CPFSA parish office.

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