Police fatal shootings, JPS blackout and Manchester barrel discovery lead Jamaica roundup

Energy Minister Daryl Vaz says he is dissatisfied with the Jamaica Public Service Company’s initial explanation for last week’s islandwide blackout. JPS submitted a preliminary account on Tuesday, blaming a system failure. Vaz said recurring grid-wide outages since 2006 show the system remains inadequate, and he plans to have an independent consultant review the final report alongside the Office of Utilities Regulation.

Police said seven men were killed in separate operations in St. Catherine, Clarendon and St. Andrew on Tuesday, with at least five firearms recovered. Five of the deaths were linked to incidents in the Bog Walk Gorge area and near GC Foster College in Spanish Town, where one policeman was also shot and left in serious but stable condition. Another man, identified as Orland Neard, was killed during an alleged confrontation in Croft Hill, Good Hope, Clarendon. A seventh man was fatally shot after police intercepted a vehicle in the Papine area. INDECOM has opened investigations into all seven deaths.

In Manchester, police are investigating after a woman’s body was found early Wednesday inside a barrel at a home. Investigators suspect the body may be that of 72-year-old Primrose Hall of Greville/Melson Villa Road in Mandeville, who had been missing since Sunday, June 7. An autopsy is being awaited.

Thirteen-year-old Excelsior student Chamelia Paul has died a month after she was stabbed while trying to part a fight at her Harbour View, St. Andrew home. Her mother, Josephine Mitchell, said doctors reported an infection before confirming the child’s death. Police previously charged 29-year-old Kemar Mitchell in relation to the attack.

Minister Robert Montague warned that people who newly occupy Crown lands after June 9 will not qualify for settlement programmes, while persons selling government land could face prosecution.

Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton said nine travellers linked to Ebola-affected countries are under mandatory self-quarantine, but none has symptoms and Jamaica remains Ebola-free.