Lightbourne

Opposition spokesperson on Gender and Children's Affairs, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, has expressed outrage over the murders of seven-year-old Damone Skyers and her 47-year-old mother Maureen Bennett.

The two were burnt to death in their house in the Torrington Park community, Thursday morning after gunmen set fire to the house and opened a barrage of shots as the two attempted to escape the blaze.

Senator Lightbourne said these cold-blooded murders are yet another representation of the mayhem sweeping Jamaica, adding that the marauding gunmen are targeting women and children.

As such, she urged all Jamaicans to cooperate fully with the police in their attempt to catch these criminals.

She also stated that the police should work assiduously and diligently in completing investigations in these and other incidents despite critical resource shortages.

Explanation needed

Senator Lightbourne also urged Minister of National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips to immediately explain to the public the exact resource shortages being faced by the security forces and how soon the Government plans to rectify the problem.

Senator Lightbourne pointed to several crimes which have been committed against children in recent times. These include six-year-old Tajae Smith and his sister, sixteen-year-old Tavia in Portmore Lane, St. Catherine and the murders of ten-year-old Sasha Kay Brown and her grandparents and aunt, who perished at their home which was fire-bombed by gunmen in the Maxfield Park area in October 2005.

The Opposition Spokesperson on Gender and Children's Affairs said she was concerned about the numbness displayed by Jamaicans towards the rising number of murders. She said civil society and ordinary Jamaicans alike are becoming far too comfortable with the nation's high murder rate.