Police probes follow Papine market killing, Sangster airport shooting and Portmore cold-case arrest

Police and oversight investigators are pursuing several major crime matters across Jamaica, including the killing of Papine Market manager Colleen Bernard in St. Andrew, a fatal police shooting involving a United States citizen near Sangster International Airport, and an arrest in a 2014 Portmore double murder.

Bernard, an employee of the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation, was attacked inside Papine Market sometime after 3:30 p.m. Friday. The shooting caused panic among vendors, shoppers and commuters in the busy district. Witnesses were reported to have cried openly as her body remained inside the market, and vendors raised renewed concerns about safety.

A police officer nearby reportedly heard the shots and saw a man leaving the market with a gun. The officer pursued him, and a running exchange of gunfire followed along sections of Old Hope Road. The alleged attacker was shot near Hope Gardens, prompting a large police operation and traffic delays around Old Hope Road, Papine Market and the Hope Gardens entrance. Investigators reportedly recovered a firearm. Bernard and the wounded man were taken to the University Hospital of the West Indies, where she was pronounced dead. The man remained in surgery up to press time. The St. Andrew Central police are investigating, while INDECOM is also probing the police-involved shooting.

Jamaica Constabulary Force data show St. Andrew Central recorded 14 murders up to May 16, compared with 15 for the same period last year, a seven per cent decline. INDECOM figures indicate 133 security-force-related fatalities since January, including 18 in May up to May 22.

In St. James, authorities were also reviewing the shooting death of an American man near the cargo and fuel facility areas at Sangster International Airport early Friday. A source said the man, who entered Jamaica Thursday on a US passport, was seen near a fuel storage area shortly after 2 a.m. and became aggressive when police tried to detain him. He was shot during a struggle and later pronounced dead at Cornwall Regional Hospital. Transport Minister Daryl Vaz said there was no breach of the airport terminal, and MBJ Airports Limited said passenger operations were not affected.

In St. Catherine, police said ex-soldier Solomon Powell, 63, also called Salah, was charged on May 8 in connection with the March 7, 2014 killings of Livingston Garvey and Mario Cross at Dyke Road and Municipal Boulevard in Portmore. Detective Superintendent Troyville Horton said Powell had long been linked to the case but was charged after a recent ruling by the Director of Public Prosecutions and a manhunt involving raids in Kingston and St. Catherine.