作者： admin

SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Regular academic activities have restarted at St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) this Monday, nearly a week after a string of violent confrontations forced the Jamaican secondary institution to pause in-person classes for 48 hours. While students have returned to their scheduled lessons, school administrators remain deep in an official inquiry to determine accountability for the unrest that disrupted campus order.

In an exclusive interview with the Jamaica Observer on Monday, STETHS Principal Keith Wellington outlined the next steps for the ongoing investigation, noting that multiple formal reports will be submitted to relevant oversight bodies before any disciplinary action is taken against students implicated in the brawls.

“This is a deliberate, step-by-step process. What I can confirm is that we have fully resumed normal school operations today [Monday], and we are continuing to work through the completion of our internal investigation. Once we have gathered all relevant information, we will make the necessary referrals to the appropriate agencies,” Wellington explained.

The principal added that a full detailed account of the incidents will first be presented to the STETHS school board for review, followed by an official report to Jamaica’s Ministry of Education. If any students require targeted support or intervention services, the administration will also coordinate those connections as part of the process.

The school closure was first announced last Wednesday by Wellington, who notified parents and guardians that classes would be suspended to address a surge of violent incidents on campus. At the time, the principal emphasized that the shutdown was a necessary precaution to protect the physical safety of every student, teacher and staff member, and to create space for the institution to reestablish clear disciplinary standards.

Unnamed sources familiar with the situation told the Observer that the decision to restrict campus access — only allowing students sitting external examinations and student-athletes preparing for competitive events to remain on site — came in response to at least three separate fights that broke out Wednesday, one of which reportedly involved a student brandishing a knife.

According to on-campus reports, the first confrontation erupted mid-morning, leaving one student injured and requiring local law enforcement officers to step in to de-escalate the situation. In the hours after that initial incident, multiple additional brawls broke out across the campus, with some of the fights occurring directly in front of senior school leaders.

When asked about the overall atmosphere on campus this Monday, Wellington expressed measured optimism that the institution can quickly return to its usual peaceful learning environment. He noted that the unrest also presents an opportunity to help students reorient to their core academic goals and reaffirm the school’s commitment to a safe, respectful campus culture.

Wellington also shared an update on the school’s ongoing recovery from Hurricane Melissa, the Category 5 storm that caused extensive damage to STETHS’ campus six months prior. “The rebuilding work is well underway, though it is not yet finished. We project that almost all repair and reconstruction work will be wrapped up by the end of next month,” he confirmed.

In addition to resuming full classes, the school has also ended a temporary class rotation system that was put in place to accommodate students preparing for external exams. With grade 11 and sixth form students now fully engaged in their external exams, their regular classrooms have been freed up for use by other grade levels, eliminating the need to rotate student groups in and out of the building each day.

“With fifth and sixth form students occupied with exams, our on-campus student population is just under 1,200, down from the school’s total enrollment of 1,670,” Wellington said of the Santa Cruz-based institution.

On a tense Monday in the tight-knit community of Granville, Montego Bay, grief-fueled protests filled the streets following a fatal police shooting that claimed the life of 17-year-old Tjey Edwards on Mother’s Day. For Edwards’ grieving mother, words failed to capture the depth of her pain — but every syllable she spoke carried unfiltered anguish and rage toward the officers who took her son’s life.

“My son surrendered to them. You told the boy to hold up his hands, and you still shot him,” she lamented, her voice rising as she demanded, “Police need to leave this area. We want justice for Tjey in Granville.”

While the mother declined to share her or her son’s name publicly, Jamaica’s Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom), the civilian-led agency tasked with probing law enforcement shootings, has formally identified the victim as Edwards. His death marks the 11th active police shooting investigation currently open with the commission, part of 126 fatal law enforcement shootings recorded across Jamaica so far this year. In dozens of these cases, community accounts of the incidents directly contradict official police narratives — and the Granville shooting is no exception.

According to anonymous sources within the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), the shooting unfolded around 6 a.m. Sunday, when a counter-narcotics and wanted operations team was wrapping up operations in Granville. Officers reported approaching Edwards as they exited the community, leading to a confrontation that ended with officers opening fire. The JCF claims a loaded black Taurus G2C 9mm pistol was recovered from Edwards’ body after the shooting.

That official account has been uniformly rejected by Edwards’ family and neighbours. The teen’s mother dismissed the weapon claim outright, insisting, “You searched him and saw he had no gun.” Protesting neighbours added that Edwards was simply walking home from a late-night community party when officers accosted and shot him without provocation.

Tyrone Gordon, one of the most outspoken leaders of the Monday protest, where demonstrators carried placards labeling the killing the “Mother’s Day Massacre,” demanded immediate accountability for the officer involved. “We want the officer who pulled the trigger to face a judge and jury,” Gordon said. “The boy gave up peacefully — there is no excuse for what happened.”

Granville Division Councillor Michael Troupe, of the People’s National Party, who described Edwards as a quiet, community-minded teen who volunteered to clean up flood damage after Hurricane Melissa hit last October, echoed those calls. Troupe, who employs Edwards’ mother in his political office, said he is arranging grief counselling for her as she mourns the loss of her firstborn child.

This shooting is not an isolated incident for Granville. It is the second fatal police shooting to spark mass unrest in the community since the start of 2024. On New Year’s Day, a stray bullet from a police firearm killed four-year-old Romaine Bowman during an operation that also left two adult men dead. That case remains under active investigation by Indecom, and Sunday’s killing has now been added to the agency’s growing caseload.

Troupe, however, says he has little faith that Indecom’s investigation will deliver meaningful justice. “Indecom coming to investigate is just a bunch of empty nonsense,” he argued. “They open an investigation, and then no one ever hears another word about it.” Troupe also pointed to a alarming national trend of youth deaths at the hands of law enforcement, noting, “Since the start of this year, 117 people have been killed by police in Jamaica. Last year the number was 317 to 320. An entire generation of young people is being lost.”

Marlene Malahoo Forte, Member of Parliament for St James West Central, traveled to Granville on Monday to meet with protesters and community leaders, seeking to de-escalate rising tensions. “Any loss of life under these circumstances is deeply unfortunate,” she said. “I was not present when this happened, so I have to rely on the accounts available, and right now there are multiple conflicting versions of events. Most people speaking are not direct eyewitnesses, and the community is still raw from trauma.”

Forte pushed back on Troupe’s skepticism of Indecom, noting that the civilian-led probe is the only path to fair accountability. “We have the benefit of an independent investigation by Indecom, and we have to let that process move forward,” she said. She also acknowledged that protesters have raised broader, longstanding concerns about policing in Jamaica — including repeated calls for officers to wear mandatory body-worn cameras to increase transparency.

The MP pledged to closely monitor the investigation into Edwards’ death and work with local leaders to prevent further unrest. “My priority is getting to the full truth of what happened, and we don’t want this community’s anger to spiral out of control,” she said. “There are so many grieving women and young people here who need support and guidance. I will continue to monitor this case, push for a full and transparent investigation, and work with Indecom and the JCF to ensure accountability is served.”

As of Monday, protests continued to simmer in Granville, with community members holding their ground demanding answers, even as local political leaders work to bridge divides between residents and law enforcement.