Chang urges families to curb violence

Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang has expressed outrage at the shooting death of six-year-old Cloey Brown in Trelawny on Monday.

“We are deeply saddened by Cloey’s murder, and we strongly condemn the use of children, women and the elderly as collateral for domestic disputes, gang violence and all other forms of crime. With Commissioner Anderson’s aid, we will see to it that the perpetrators who have been arrested and charged for Cloey’s murder, face the full brunt of the law,” Dr Chang said.

Chang added that Jamaica is depending on the institution of family to help curb crime and deviance by playing a vital role in the orderly society which Jamaica must become.

“Family is needed to protect one another and not incite vicious crimes such as murder,” he said.

According to a police report, Cloey died from a gunshot wound sustained in the abdomen, following an altercation between her father and someone who called him out of his house. In the report, eyewitnesses said the altercation allegedly stemmed from sibling rivalry between the child’s father and uncle, who is said to have threatened his brother the day before.

In St Mary last week, a mother and sister were also charged for murder and conspiracy to commit murder after the decomposing and dismembered body of a man was found in bags behind the family’s yard.

While calling on all families to refrain from using violence to solve disputes, Chang explained that crime is a cycle which stems from learnt behaviour and must first be condemned in the home.