Granville protest shooting kills woman as opposition questions Hurricane Melissa relief spending

A woman residents knew as Buju died on Sunday afternoon in Granville, St. James, after she was shot while seated in the driver’s seat of a black van during a protest that followed the police killing of a 17-year-old boy on Mother’s Day a week earlier.

Locals identified her as Latoya Bulljian. Witness accounts cited in community reports said officers took her driver’s licence before gunfire. Residents said tensions were already high as people demanded justice for the teenager, and protesters planned to move activity from Granville Square toward Sam Sharpe Square in Montego Bay.

Member of Parliament Marlene Malahoo Forte, who went to the scene, said emotions in the community remained raw and that authorities must act carefully to preserve life. She said footage should be reviewed and action taken swiftly because public trust in the system is already low. The St. James police had recently reported rising concern about violence against women in the parish.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force said a policeman was interdicted after the fatal shooting and that the matter was reported to INDECOM and the Independent Police Oversight Bureau, which opened full investigations. Preliminary closed-circuit television review prompted the command’s decision. The force said conduct outside the law or professional standards would not be tolerated and that the case remained under active investigation.

In separate political developments, Opposition Leader and People’s National Party President Mark Golding accused the Government of mismanaging Hurricane Melissa relief money after reviewing the Auditor General’s report. He said that as of 23 February 2026—five months after the hurricane—the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management had received about $1.44 billion in cash donations but had spent roughly $26 million, less than 2%, on people still suffering in hard-hit parishes. Golding called that gross dereliction and questioned changes that placed ODPEM under the Office of the Prime Minister and shifted leadership to the Jamaica Defence Force.

On the sports front, Brown’s Town, coached by Donovan Loftus, won the Cassava Championship 2–0 over Seaview Gardens on Saturday night at Constant Spring, with goals from Damian Worms and substitute Seppa, earning a playoff chance for a place in the Jamaica Football Federation second tier. In the Popeyes Challenge Cup, round-two matches were set for Tuesday, 19 May, in St. Elizabeth, including Humble Lion against Med Forest FC at 4:30 p.m. and Stets Elite Football Academy against Lime Hall—fresh from a 2–0 opening win over Wi-Fi United—in the 7:45 p.m. feature.