St Andrew bar killing, Granville police shooting probe, and hurricane relief spending under fire

A patron was shot dead at a bar in Cassava Piece, St Andrew, on Sunday night, and police have launched a manhunt for two men believed responsible for the attack.

Thirty-year-old Jerome Ellis, also known as Aino and a resident of the community, was inside the establishment along Cassava Piece Road shortly after 11 p.m. when two masked men entered. Police say one man ordered a drink while the other spoke briefly with Ellis before gunfire erupted and both fled. Ellis was found with apparent gunshot wounds to the upper body. Officers took him to Kingston Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators are continuing their inquiries.

The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) is asking anyone who saw Sunday’s fatal police shooting of a woman in Granville, St James, to come forward as its probe continues. The deceased has been identified as 45-year-old Elatotoya Bulgin, also called BJO.

In a statement on Monday, the commission said it was notified of the incident and responded independently. It noted the viral spread of CCTV footage linked to the shooting and stressed that citizen video often helps establish what happened before, during, and after confrontations involving the security forces. INDECOM said such material can support assessments of conduct and whether force was necessary and proportionate, but full investigations still require witness statements and other evidence. It urged anyone who witnessed any part of the incident—including people travelling in a vehicle driven by Bulgin—to contact the agency with information or additional footage.

INDECOM disclosed that no body-worn cameras were issued to or worn by the three officers reportedly on crowd-control duty during a protest when the shooting occurred. It said Bulgin’s death raised to 15 the number of people fatally shot by members of the security forces in May, including a double fatal police shooting on May 16. Year to date, 130 people have reportedly been killed in such incidents, compared with 129 in the corresponding period in 2025.

The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has condemned as a “wicked act” an Auditor General’s finding that the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management had spent only $26.2 million, or 1.8 per cent, of $1.44 billion in donations tied to Category 5 Hurricane Melissa as of February 23, 2026.

Speaking at a party press conference on Monday, Opposition Spokesperson on Social Protection and Social Transformation Dr Angela Brown Burke said the scale of hurricane damage made the slow disbursement especially troubling. She cited a Red Cross estimate in December last year of 156,000 damaged homes and about 90,000 families directly affected, arguing that even all donations received would not close the gap in need. Brown Burke said funds were meant for urgent shelter and assistance, and that the audit exposed weak governance, oversight, and accountability in the relief programme. She said millions in funds and materials could not be independently verified while vulnerable citizens remained unprotected.

The real-time audit of the Hurricane Melissa relief initiative, which reviewed financial management and procurement under the Government’s roof-restoration programme, also found that $34 million worth of roofing materials could not be properly accounted for because of missing signed delivery slips and goods-received notes. In addition, $141.1 million in committed expenditure lacked verified payment documentation. Brown Burke called on the Government to publish a full beneficiary list with parish-by-parish breakdowns and selection criteria, and to allow independent verification of reported repairs. She also urged greater respect for people staying in shelters after storm damage.

An appeal for public passenger vehicle operators to postpone Monday’s threatened protest over delayed fare adjustments appeared to be heeded, with no major disruptions reported in the sector by midday. On Sunday, the president of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services, Newman, had urged operators to stand down because a meeting was scheduled with Finance Minister Fayval Williams and Transport Minister Daryl Vaz. The ministers addressed PPV operators at the Half Way Tree transport centre on Monday morning.