Boy, 14, implicated in fatal shooting of nine-year-old girl in MoBay

Western Bureau:

At 14-year-old boy is now in police custody following the fatal shooting of a nine-year-old girl in the volatile Hendon/Norwood community in Montego Bay, St James, last Friday.

The dead child has been identified as Kala Bailey of the Hendon/Norwood community, while the boy, whose name cannot be released, is a neighbour.

According to reports, shortly after 5:30 Friday, Kala was at home with her older brother and the boy when a gun was pulled and she was shot.

"I am really saddened by this most unfortunate incident," said Assistant Commissioner of Police Warren Clarke, the commanding officer for Area One (St James, Hanover, Westmoreland and Trelawny).

"I understand that they were playing when the incident occurred," added Clarke, who said preliminary investigations indicate that the murder weapon belongs to a member of the household who is a licensed firearm holder.

"We have always been concerned with the prevalence of weapons, especially in the unstructured communities where criminality is rampant and children are often influenced by what they see happening around them. The influence of the criminals continues to have a negative impact on our children, and it is something we should all be worried about," added Clarke.