Teen remanded in school attack
CENTRAL VILLAGE, St Catherine — A 17 year-old, who was allegedly one of four gunmen who invaded the White Marl Primary and Junior High School almost a month ago, was yesterday remanded in custody when he appeared in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate’s Court.
He is charged with illegal possession of a firearm and threatening a crown witness, and is scheduled to appear in the Corporate Area Gun Court on Friday.
According to police reports, shortly after 11 am on June 4, the 17 year-old — who was armed with a gun — went to the school with three other men, in search of a 10 year-old girl who had witnessed her father’s murder.
One of the four have been accused of committing that murder.
The police added that the girl, on seeing the armed teen, ran to the principal’s office where she sought refuge. The police were later called to the school but the invading group fled the scene before the lawmen arrived.
However, Smith was arrested and charged following a police operation in the Central Village area on June 18. The other men are now being sought by the police.
A police source close to the investigation told the Observer yesterday that their investigations led them to believe that the men had gone to the school with a plan to kidnap and then kill the 10 year-old girl, as she was the sole witness to her father’s brutal slaying.
The young girl and her mother have since gone into hiding.
The incident led to the suspension of classes at the school for a week. Classes resumed on June 11, after two meetings between the Ministry of Education and teachers, to address security concerns at the facility.