Child killed in Old Harbour crash as police probe stabbings, Scotia Bank ABM theft and ammunition find

A three-year-old boy died on Saturday evening after he was struck by a motor vehicle on Terminal Road in Old Harbour, St. Catherine. Police identified the child as Josiah Williams of Blackwood Gardens, Old Harbour Bay. Investigators said the incident happened around 6:30 p.m. when Josiah reportedly broke free from his mother, ran onto the roadway, and was hit by a white 2017 Toyota Probox. Old Harbour police are examining the circumstances. Island Traffic Authority figures show that, as of June 26, 137 people had been killed in 123 fatal crashes across Jamaica this year.

Two men were fatally stabbed in separate incidents on Sunday in St. Elizabeth and Clarendon, and police said suspects were taken into custody in both cases. The deceased were named as 22-year-old Tajay Atkins, an unemployed resident of Union District, Balaclava, St. Elizabeth, and 57-year-old businessman Errol Nelson of Brandon Hill District, Crofts Hill, Clarendon. Police reported that Atkins was found with multiple stab wounds at the rear of his home around 6:30 a.m. and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators said the alleged attacker later surrendered and remains in custody while Black River CIB detectives continue their work. Nelson was reportedly stabbed to death at his business, the Breadfruit Tree Shop in Brandon Hill, around 2:00 p.m. The alleged assailant was subsequently detained, and May Pen CIB detectives are investigating.

Officers launched a probe after a security guard found 72 rounds of assorted ammunition at premises in Coopers Hill, Red Hills, St. Andrew, around 1:05 p.m. on Sunday. The location was reportedly once occupied by a security company. The Constant Spring CIB is handling the investigation.

St. Catherine South police are continuing inquiries into the theft of an undetermined sum of cash from the Scotia Bank automated banking machine servicing room on Britain Park, Portmore, over the weekend. Senior Superintendent Leighton Gray, commanding officer for the division, told reporters on Monday morning that there was no update. Investigators reviewing surveillance footage reportedly saw several men in black arrive in a grey Nissan Latio sedan with an obscured licence plate, enter the servicing room, use security access codes to open four ABM safes, and remove cash. Preliminary findings indicated no forced entry. Access to the room is restricted to specialist staff from Beryllium, which services the machines. Investigators determined that only cassettes holding larger denominations and United States currency were emptied. Each safe can reportedly hold more than $20 million. Neither Beryllium nor Scotiabank has commented publicly.

Julian Chang has resigned from the People's National Party with immediate effect. In a letter to the party's general secretary dated June 29, she said the decision followed careful reflection, thanked members for the chance to serve, and stated it was in her best interest to pursue a different path. She said events of the past two years had sparked significant public discussion but remained unresolved, and she did not want her departure seen as driven by bitterness. In January, the PNP said its executive would approve a committee to investigate sexual harassment allegations Chang made against Westmoreland Central MP Dwayne Vaz, who denied them. General Secretary Dr. Dayton Campbell said then that the panel was separate from the party's internal affairs commission, which was already reviewing a political dispute between the two.

Jamaica recorded a second straight week of single-digit murders, with six homicides between June 21 and June 27, according to Jamaica Constabulary Force figures. Eight murders were logged the prior week. As of June 27, the national murder total stood at 265, down 23 per cent from 342 in the corresponding period last year. Serious crimes overall fell about 20 per cent, with declines in shootings, injuries, rape, robberies, and break-ins. St. James led police divisions with 35 murders since the start of the year, up 25 per cent year on year, followed by St. Andrew South with 22, St. Andrew Central with 21, Clarendon with 20, and Kingston Eastern with 19.

Kingston Mayor and Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation chairman Andrew Swaby challenged Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie over comments about roughly $600 million to $700 million in monthly road-repair allocations to municipal corporations. Speaking after a cleanup initiative in St. James, McKenzie said all municipal authorities receive a share of that funding regardless of party control. Swaby pushed back, saying the KSAMC receives roughly $85 million monthly and arguing that sum cannot address Kingston and St. Andrew's road problems. He called on McKenzie and other ministers to say plainly whether bad roads are confined to the capital region, adding that residents deserve better infrastructure.