Curious onlookers view the body of 30-year-old Robert Watson, who was shot and killed at the National Commercial Bank's day care centre, Worthington Terrace, yesterday. Mr. Watson, formerly of Weymouth Drive, Kingston, was a construction supervisor contracted to Petro Construction Ltd. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

What should have been a normal morning at a day care centre for some 30 children at the National Commercial Bank's Kiddies Centre, on Worthington Terrace, St. Andrew, turned out to be a morning of chaos, confusion and trauma, following the murder of a man on the institution's compound yesterday.

According to Constable Keisha Scott, of the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), about 9:20 a.m., 30-year-old Robert Watson, a construction supervisor employed to Petro Construction Ltd., went to the site, where an additional classroom is being built, when an argument developed between him and two employees, contracted by his company.

Constable Scott said explosions were later heard and Mr. Watson was found suffering from gunshot wounds. Up to press time, the men were being sought by the St. Andrew Central police.

When The Gleaner visited the institution about 11:00 a.m. yesterday, the body was found at the front of the compound clad in a blue shirt and jeans and a pair of white sneakers.

Detectives were on hand processing the scene, while curious onlookers stood in groups and discussed the incident.

A section of the road was later cordoned off, preventing motorists and pedestrians from moving freely.

Children picked up

Belinda Williams, public relations and corporate affairs manager at NCB, said an email was sent out to staff members informing them of the incident and urged those who worked nearby to pick up their children. She noted that transportation was provided for the other children who were transferred to NCB's Wellness Centre.

A car was used to block the body to prevent the children from seeing it.

Ms. Williams said the children, between the ages of six months and about three years old, were in a classroom when the incident occurred. As such, she noted that they were not affected by the incident.

The public relations manager said if the afterschoolers were there, it would have been worse as they would probably have witnessed the incident.

However, a parent who went to the day care centre to pick up her child, told The Gleaner she understood some of the children witnessed the murder as they were in the play area, which is located near the scene.

The obviously shaken parent said that, when she got to the scene and saw the body on the ground, she was shocked and dumbfounded.

"When I saw it, I broke down because I was thinking of what could have happened," she told The Gleaner.

- petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com