Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Even as Horace Chang emphasized the good news of a 15 percent decrease in major crimes so far this year, he expressed concern Wednesday about an emerging trend of multiple fatal shootings stemming from gang-related shootings. .

Government officials were lamenting a recent spate of murders on Cherry Tree Lane in Clarendon, where eight people were killed and nine others were injured due to an ongoing gang war. Similarly, gang violence in Pleasant View Hill (formerly Wareika Hill) claimed the lives of five people, including two suspected gang leaders, and the Bowens Road triple murder in South St Andrew, which was part of ongoing conflict between rival gangs.

Holness told reporters at a post-Cabinet press conference at Jamaica House on Wednesday that the Government was considering increasing reward money for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of such crimes. He said the administration is also examining laws to specifically deal with these hoodlums.

The prime minister, who has seen a 19 per cent reduction in murders, 233 fewer deaths and a 9 per cent reduction in shootings from January 1 to November 4 this year, said he was concerned that the Government’s security forces’ efforts to achieve these reductions “could happen”. It can easily be erased by a single incident.”

“This is a matter of serious concern to us. We have looked at the law and examined the possible responses of the security forces. The law provides some explanations for such actions. Under the Offenses Against the Person Act, a person who commits a murder and is convicted of the same offence, especially if the Act does not comply with the law or in society If murder is permitted under circumstances calculated to create a state of fear, a segment of the public said that the maximum penalty should be imposed, that is, death or life imprisonment.

He said the Government had directed the police to start investigating such shootings and initiate prosecution accordingly.

“In other words, we need to start treating these incidents as criminal terrorism and possibly draft legislation to specifically define these types of shootings (resulting in large numbers of fatal victims). “So we’re looking at legislation to see how we can create specific laws around that or whether we have legislation that can be used together to have that effect,” he said.

“I cannot understand why someone would see a festival event going on and open fire on the crowd, as happened on Cherry Tree Lane or Pleasant View Heights. What other purpose could such inhumane brutality have other than creating fear in a society and the public? Terrorism is the answer to this.” “So these people are not your ordinary criminals, they are your worst kind and should be pursued with extreme prejudice,” he added.

Reminding that a reward of 25 million dollars was set for the Cherry Tree Lane incident, the Prime Minister said that the Government will continue to encourage the public to share information by increasing the reward given for such incidents.

“We’ll look at the budget and see what we have. But we need to encourage the sharing of information, and when any shooting occurs where multiple victims are shot, there will be a significant reward to the public for anyone who provides information that leads to the capture (and) arrest of anyone involved. Whoever committed these crimes “Including people who aid and abet people in any way and provide information (about whom),” he said.

Meanwhile, Chang, who is also national security minister, said the “deeply concerning” incidents were not random acts of violence but were linked to conflicts between organized crime groups involving gang activity, drug trafficking, lottery fraud and similar activities. the gun works.

He said the JCF was working tirelessly to maintain peace and security and bring the perpetrators of these heinous acts to justice. “We are aware of the seriousness of the situation and respond to each incident with the highest priority,” he said.

“Police have seen a significant reduction in multiple homicides. While the last three events have shaken society, this is more a reflection of the fact that society hears less about multiple homicides than it did when they occurred. “It’s creating a kind of social shock, and we’re really worried about them, as is everyone else in society,” he said.

“At this point last year there were 78 double homicides with 156 victims. There were 40 such incidents this year and 80 of them were victims. Quadruple homicides were halved from four incidents with 16 victims to just two incidents with eight victims. “This reduction in major crimes reflects the effectiveness of our strategies to reduce gang-related activity and violent crime.”