MANCHESTER, JAMAICA – Law enforcement investigators spent hours working through the night into early Friday, carefully documenting and processing the site of a brutal double homicide that claimed the lives of a father and his son in the New Forest district of southwestern Jamaica’s Manchester parish.
Unnamed law enforcement sources familiar with the preliminary investigation confirmed that the two victims were targeted in a premeditated shooting close to their family residence in the quiet south Manchester community. Initial evidence collected at the scene indicates that the pair had their hands bound by their attackers before being gunned down in the incident, which unfolded just around midnight Thursday.
So far, local authorities have only publicly released the stage name of one victim, who was known in local circles by the artist alias Fido. The identities of both victims have not been fully released to the public as police continue working to notify all next of kin and complete preliminary procedural steps.
As of the latest update, investigators have not uncovered a definitive motive for the killing. No suspects have been taken into custody in connection with the attack, and police are urging any members of the public with information that could advance the investigation to come forward confidentially.
The violence comes amid a worrying upward trend in homicides across the parish this year. Jamaica Constabulary Force data shows that between January 1 and May 31 of this year, Manchester recorded 14 murders, a 75 percent jump from the eight murders reported in the same five-month period last year. Friday’s double homicide pushes the total number of murder victims in Manchester to 16 since the calendar year began, deepening concerns over rising violent crime in the region.
Reporting by Kasey Williams