Jamaica condemns murder against children

Jamaica has condemned murder against children in the country, especially the most recent brutal killing of a 14-year-old student, which pushed the number of murder cases against children to 15 since the beginning of the year.

"The Ministry of Youth and Culture condemns in the strongest possible terms the level of violence brought against this innocent child as she got ready for school," said Jamaican Minister of Youth and Culture Lisa Hanna noted in a news release available on Wednesday.

"There can be no justification for such unspeakable savagery against a 14-year-old," she said, urging residents to share information in relation to the brutality with the security forces.

The body of Kayalicia Simpson, an eighth grader, was found in bushes meters away from her home half an hour after she left home for school on Tuesday. Police said multiple chop wounds to the head and neck caused her death.

The tragedy immediately rocked not only the local community, but also the whole country.

However, this was only the latest of a series of similar crimes that shocked the country since the start of the year. Compared with the same period last year, the number of murder cases against children rose radically.

Opposition leader Andrew Holness urged the government to "move quickly" to address the spate of attacks against children, saying that condolences cannot "bring back our children." Endit