St Andrew South police seize two guns in 12-hour span as Brownstone lift delay and educator vetting gaps draw scrutiny

St Andrew South police recovered two illegal firearms and 15 rounds of ammunition in separate raids carried out less than 12 hours apart under Operation Iron Shield.

The first seizure happened around 6:00 p.m. on Friday on Crescent Road in Kingston 11. Officers said they found a Taurus 10 mm pistol fitted with a magazine containing 11 rounds concealed among debris at the rear of a property. No arrest was made.

Hours later, shortly before 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, members of the operations support team responded to an illegal party on Solitary Road in Cockburn Town Gardens. Police said they came under attack from armed men. One man was found with gunshot wounds, taken to hospital and admitted. A search of the area led to the discovery of a 9 mm pistol and four rounds of ammunition.

The police described the seizures as another significant blow to criminal activity and renewed calls for residents not to harbour criminals or facilitate illegal parties. Anyone with information on illegal guns or criminal activity may contact Crime Stop at 311 or the nearest police station.

At Brownstone High School in St Ann, Principal Alfred Thomas is pressing the Ministry of Education and the National Education Trust to expedite completion of a wheelchair lift promised five years ago, when Abigail Conible, then newly enrolled and using a wheelchair, was told she would reach classes and resource rooms above the ground floor.

Conible, now 15 and part of Thursday's graduating class, navigated the campus without the lift. At the ceremony, Thomas said ramps and improved bathroom facilities had helped, but students with disabilities deserve equal access to every part of the school. He told the ministry he remained unsatisfied with the timeline after a meeting yesterday, though he was still hopeful, noting another wheelchair-bound student may enrol in September and that a lift would greatly assist a pupil with a physical disability.

Separately, an attorney who has represented more than one educator on sex-offence charges said individuals acquitted of such matters have returned to teaching, often at different schools, because workplaces lack thorough background vetting.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the lawyer said she once visited a school for a locus visit and saw another client she represented—then facing two rape matters in court—still teaching there before those cases were disposed of. She also represented a teacher charged with several counts of rape and grievous sexual assault of a grade six student at a prominent school; that client was eventually acquitted and, to her knowledge, is again employed at another primary school.

Police record checks alone are not enough, she argued. A clean record does not mean a person was never charged, since cases may be dropped when a victim cannot testify or evidence is insufficient, and dismissed matters can later be removed from the record after court clearance. She agreed the system limits what employers can see, but also avoids stigmatising those wrongfully accused who prevail in court.

Kesha Rodriquez Mills, director of investigations, inspections and compliance at the Office of the Children's Advocate, has urged school officials to stay alert amid numerous allegations of educators sexually violating students. At a University of Technology, Jamaica forum on strengthening protection against childhood sexual abuse, she said reporting is rising, including from young people, but many boys facing alleged grooming do not come forward and peers sometimes report on their behalf.

Rodriquez Mills warned that some administrators take false comfort when an accused teacher resigns, only to learn the person has continued at another institution. She called on principals to conduct scheduled orientation on appropriate behaviour for staff. The pending 2025 Jamaica Teaching Council Bill would require mandatory criminal background checks and fit-and-proper standards for licensing, with convictions for disqualifying offences carrying two or more years' imprisonment barring registration; the measure has not yet been passed into law.