St. James again tops Jamaica murder tally as police hunt wanted men in St. Elizabeth

St. James has again recorded the highest murder count among Jamaica's police divisions, with 35 killings from January 1 to June 20 — nine more than in the same period last year and 15 above St. Andrew South, which ranks second with 22.

The figures mark a sharp reversal for a division that ended 2025 with fewer than 100 murders for the first time in more than two decades. A Montego Bay businessman who asked not to be named said he was distressed by the trend and warned that the parish must not slide back to earlier levels of violence.

At a May sitting of the St. James Municipal Corporation, when the murder tally stood at 26, Divisional Commander Senior Superintendent Eron Samuels said 11 of the killings were classified as interpersonal disputes, eight as gang-related and seven as committed by criminals. Hanover has recorded 10 murders so far this year, up from seven in the comparable period last year, while Trelawny fell from six to four and Westmoreland dropped from 22 to 13. Shooting incidents declined in St. James, Westmoreland and Hanover over the past six months, though Trelawny rose from three to seven.

In St. Elizabeth, police have launched joint operations in Akong and nearby communities to locate wanted men and illegal firearms. Superintendent Collarge Mento, who heads the parish command, said on Tuesday that officers will not ease pressure after a fatal police shooting on Friday night and that associates linked to the deceased were also being pursued. He said one man was detained in Ampong on Saturday and that Tuesday's deployment, which reportedly involved at least 14 police vehicles in Okapang, formed part of a wider push across Thornton, Silo, Mati, Aberdine and Akong. Teams from the St. Elizabeth Division, public safety, traffic enforcement, the Area 3 apprehension unit and specialized operations took part. Mento said arrests and charges were being made, including a recent robbery-with-aggravation charge and a murder charge after a chopping incident near Akong, but could not confirm where Tuesday's detainees were held.

Two Akong residents, speaking without giving their names, said the community had never seen violence on this scale and that fear was stopping people from speaking openly or giving statements to police. One called for closer coordination between the Government and Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake to stamp out wrongdoing.

At the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston, a ballistics expert testified Tuesday in the trial of 25 alleged members of what prosecutors describe as the Teser Miller faction of the Clansman gang. On counts nine, ten and eleven of a 32-count indictment, alleged leader Miller and co-accused Kirk Forester face charges of facilitating serious offences by a criminal organisation, including the February 24, 2018 murders of small-business operator Leon Burke and labourer Kimar Williams along Bug Walk main road near Pineapple Lane in St. Catherine, where a third man was seriously wounded. The detective sergeant, a ballistics specialist, said six of 18 cartridge casings examined were fired from a Taurus 9mm pistol recovered in a black plastic bag behind a building the day after the shooting; twelve others came from a separate 9mm firearm. Under cross-examination by defence attorney John Mark Reed, he acknowledged limited knowledge of how exhibits were stored before reaching the lab. The matter continues Thursday in the Home Circuit Division.

The Western Regional Health Authority has long struggled to keep adequate blood stocks because of demand from gunshot victims. In May 2024, Cornwall Regional Hospital had only nine units left when four shooting patients exhausted the supply in one night, forcing elective cancer surgeries to be postponed the next day, according to clinical coordinator Dr Delroy Frey.