Etana says relatives targeted as August Town death, Papine market killing raise police concern

Police in St. Andrew are investigating after a man was found dead with what appeared to be gunshot injuries to the head and his body partly burnt at premises on August Town Road early Saturday, May 23, 2026.

The police said officers went to the location after receiving reports of a house fire sometime after 3:15 a.m. The scene was processed, and the Half-Way-Tree Criminal Investigation Branch is handling the probe. The incident has come against claims of growing tension and violence in August Town.

Reggae artiste Etana, whose given name is Shauna McKenzie, posted on social media Saturday morning that members of her family in the area were being targeted. "My relatives are under attack in August Town, Kingston, Jamaica. They have taken a second person this morning. He is mentally ill and they have burnt my auntie's shop to the ground," she wrote. It was not immediately clear whether the dead man was linked to the matter she described.

Police also said they have taken steps to guard against reprisal after Papine Market manager Colleen Sonia Bernard was shot and killed in St. Andrew on Friday. Bernard, an employee of the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation, was reportedly collecting fees from vendors about 3:50 p.m. when a gunman attacked her in the market.

An off-duty policeman later challenged the alleged shooter near Hope Road and Hope Gardens, where gunfire was exchanged. The man was shot and injured, and authorities reported seizing a firearm with a magazine containing 9mm rounds. Bernard was pronounced dead at hospital, while the wounded suspect was admitted under police guard.

Assistant Commissioner Michael Phipps said investigators were reviewing forensic material to determine the motive and identify any other persons involved. Police intelligence reportedly points to Bernard being related to a senior gang figure connected to Mona Commons, leading officers to assess the threat of retaliation as high.

In St. Catherine, businessman Leroy Sharp was fined $500,000 after pleading guilty Friday to two counts linked to gaming boxes without a licence. Acting Senior Parish Court Judge Janelle Nelson-Gale imposed $250,000 on each count after his attorney, Donna Hugh Martin, asked the court to consider his early guilty plea. The Crown offered no evidence on the technical-services charge.

The same court postponed the illegal-entry case against Haitian national Sefornia Grant Gordon to December 1 while awaiting input from the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency. Her lawyer, Dr. Marcus Goff, said she had recently married and is now Mrs. Gordon. The court also eased her bail reporting requirement because she is heavily pregnant and expected to give birth by June 12, while her $1 million bail remains in effect.