Off-duty officer shoots woman near UWI gate; Trelawny police crash; ODPEM hurricane fund audit

A woman was shot in the leg by an off-duty police officer on Tuesday afternoon near the main gate of the University of the West Indies, Mona, after a dispute with a taxi driver, according to reports. Around 4:30 p.m., the woman allegedly attacked the driver with a knife. An off-duty officer who was passing intervened, but she reportedly ignored his commands and moved to attack the driver again. The officer discharged his firearm, striking her in the leg. She was taken to the University Hospital of the West Indies for treatment. The matter was reported to the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) and remains under police investigation.

Five Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) members assigned to the Trelawny division suffered minor injuries on Wednesday morning when their service vehicle overturned on Foreshore Road in Falmouth. Police said the crash occurred about 7:15 a.m. as the driver travelled toward Montego Bay and lost control. The party of three men and two women was reportedly heading to a shooting range. They were treated at Falmouth Public General Hospital.

An 18-year-old hairstylist from Heywood Hall, St. Mary, and a 30-year-old construction worker, Romeo Forbes, were arrested and charged on Tuesday after allegedly trying to smuggle contraband into the Annotto Bay lock-up. Officers at the Annotto Bay Police Station compound saw suspicious activity and observed inmates pulling an item through a cell window. A transparent plastic bag with six cigarettes fell to the ground. A third suspect escaped and is being sought.

In the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Constables Dameon Campbell and Kenroy Hines were acquitted on three murder counts linked to the fatal shooting of brothers Andrew and Tristan Bryton and their cousin Kingsley Green at a shop in Shrewsbury, Westmoreland, on March 15, 2013. An AK-47 rifle and a handgun were recovered. After the killings, protests erupted in Shrewsbury amid community tension; the case was later moved through the Trelawny Circuit Court to Kingston. Following no-case submissions by the defence at the close of the prosecution case, Judge Leighton Pusey directed the jury to return formal not-guilty verdicts. Campbell was represented by Peter Champagnie KC, Somair Campbell, and associated counsel; Hines by Jacqueline Samuels-Brown KC and Zara Lewis.

St. James police say domestic violence against women is rising in the parish. Senior Superintendent Errol Samuels said 35-year-old Melissa Samnauf, a Jamaican and United States citizen, was recently killed and the JCF has named Dean Watson as a person of interest. Samuels urged residents to report interpersonal disputes before they turn deadly. "We are very saddened that, you know, many of these incidents are emanating out of interpersonal situations, and we are very appalled that we have so many violent incidents surrounding women," he said, noting that 12 murders in the parish since the start of the year were tied to interpersonal conflict. He said progress was being made in the Samnauf case and appealed for public help to locate Watson, believed to be in the Montego Bay area.

Four months after Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) had spent only about $26 million, or 1.8 per cent, of roughly $1.44 billion in cash donations for storm victims, Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis reported in a real-time audit tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. As at February 23, 2026, about $569.6 million Jamaican and $5.9 million US remained in ODPEM donation accounts; balances were unchanged by April 2, 2026, and included unspent Hurricane Beryl funds. ODPEM cited the absence of Ministry of Finance authorisation to spend. Monroe Ellis said poor planning and monitoring left her unable to confirm whether balances reflected ongoing relief or delays. The audit also flagged verification gaps, including roofing supplies delivered to Jamaica Defence Force sites without full signed receipts, and outstanding payment confirmation on major supplier contracts.