Fatal police shooting in Spanish Town as traffic demerit system takes effect in October

A man was fatally shot by police during an alleged gun battle in Quarry Hill, Spanish Town, St. Catherine, early Thursday morning. Members of the St. Catherine North Proactive Investigation Unit and the Area Fugitive Apprehension Team had entered the community around 5:30 a.m. in search of gunmen. Police said that upon reaching a section of the area, officers saw two men jumping over a fence at the rear of premises. The men were confronted and allegedly opened fire. Officers took evasive action and returned fire as the shooting continued. When the exchange ended, one man was found with apparent gunshot wounds. He was taken to Spanish Town Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The deceased has been identified by the alias Wren of Quarry Hill. A Taurus pistol fitted with a magazine containing three 9-mm cartridges was seized. The Independent Commission of Investigations is investigating the fatal shooting.

Transport Minister Daryl Vaz has announced that Jamaica's demerit point system for traffic violators will take effect on October 1, 2026, following a compliance suspension that ends on September 30. Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, Vaz said the system is intended to reduce violations, improve driver accountability, and save lives on the roads. He noted that about 1.1 million tickets remain outstanding, with another 118,000 recently issued still to be paid or taken to court. Motorists are being urged to settle outstanding matters before the system becomes fully operational, when offences attracting demerit points will form part of drivers' records and may lead to licence suspension where prescribed thresholds are exceeded.

Twenty-eight Haitian nationals who arrived illegally in Jamaica on Monday were returned to Haiti on Thursday night after processing by the relevant authorities. The group landed in the Passa Gardens area in Portland and was intercepted by Portland police in three separate batches. Officials from the police, the health department, and immigration processed the migrants, who comprised 21 men, four women, and three children. Portland police are urging residents not to shelter undocumented migrants and to report unfamiliar individuals seen in their communities.

Major crimes are trending downward in St. Ann, according to Deputy Superintendent David Blake, commander for Zone 1 in the parish's police division. Blake said officers are targeting individuals described as known violence producers. He reported more than a 20 percent reduction in murders, a 44 percent drop in shootings, and a 45 percent fall in robberies, along with one fewer rape than last year. Break-ins and aggravated assaults remain areas of concern, particularly in Brown's Town.

Twenty-five-year-old labourer Chad Campbell, of Yallahs Town, St. Catherine, was granted $700,000 bail in parish court after being charged with the murder of his 23-year-old nephew, Lamar Mullins, also of Yallahs Town. The charges stem from an incident around 8:00 p.m. on June 17 at Campbell's home, where Mullins was watching a World Cup football match on television. An argument reportedly developed over the volume after Mullins's son asked that it be turned down, and the dispute allegedly became physical. Mullins was reportedly stabbed in the upper body and was pronounced dead at Linstead Hospital. Senior Parish Court Judge Desiree Lyseight ordered Campbell to stay away from Yallahs Town and have no contact with witnesses. His attorney, Donahue Martin, argued self-defence and that Campbell has a fixed place of abode.

Detectives from the Hunts Bay Criminal Investigation Branch have charged 39-year-old Andrew Anderson, otherwise called Prince, of 7th Street, Greenwich Farm, Kingston 13, with the 2016 murder of 62-year-old Junior Russell, also of 7th Street. Police said Anderson left the community for several years after the killing and was captured on June 12 following intelligence-driven investigations. Russell was allegedly stabbed during a dispute about 5:00 p.m. on July 28, 2016, and later died in hospital.