‘We killing out the future!’
12-year-old shot dead, mother battling for life after rush-hour stoplight ambush
Published:Saturday | January 25, 2025 | 4:19 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
Investigators say they will leave no stone unturned as they probe the brazen early morning gun murder of a 12-year-old child and serious injury to his mother yesterday along Lindsay Crescent in St Andrew.
The dead child is Kevaughn Fearon.
His mother, a 46-year-old businesswoman, up to last night remained hospitalised in serious condition after she received gunshot wounds to the upper body.
Kevaughn received a gunshot wound to his chest.
He succumbed to his injuries at the University Hospital of the West Indies.
According to reports, about 7:30 a.m., the businesswoman was driving a blue Mercedes-Benz along Lindsay Crescent when, on reaching the stoplight at Dunrobin Avenue, the light turned red and she brought the vehicle to a halt.
The police say two men on a motorcycle drove up and the pillion opened fire on the occupants of the motorcar.
The Gleaner understands that the shooters reportedly drove off along Dunrobin Avenue in the direction of Constant Spring Road.
A third person, who was also in the car, escaped injury.
That individual reportedly drove the injured woman and child to the hospital and the Papine Police Station was contacted.
A team of detectives assigned to the St Andrew North Criminal Investigations Branch (CIB) were then notified and combed the Lindsay Crescent area, going house-to-house and checking with businesses in close by.
Spent casings were retrieved from the scene and sealed.
“At this time we cannot confirm the motive or theory for this shooting,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Randy Sweeney told The Gleaner.
Sweeney, who heads the St Andrew North Police Division, is asking anyone with information to come forward to assist the investigation.
Members of the small business community near the scene and some residents were shocked to see the roadway cordoned off and crime scene detectives carrying out their functions.
“Is what happened around here,” a passing motorist asked one of the policemen at the scene.
“Oh my God, dem kill a 12-year-old? Why are we like this, every day suh is a murder? We killing out the future!” the motorist said, on learning why the police were in the space.
A resident said he heard the explosions but did not know the deadly shooting occurred so close by.
“These types of things don’t happen around here, so we don’t want people to think we are violent. This must be a one-off incident,” the resident told The Gleaner.
As at January 18, the division had recorded two murders, one more than the corresponding period in 2024.
There have been five shooting incidents up to January 18, four more than the perod under review last year.
Meanwhile, a total of 177 children under the age of 18 were murdered in Jamaica from 2019 to 2023.
Data compiled by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica over the five-year period show that 130 boys and 47 girls were killed.
The numbers for 2024 have yet to be published.