KINGSTON, Jamaica--Police are offering a J $2 million (US $15,966) reward to anyone with information that leads to the arrest of the two men who fatally shot a Canadian visitor.
Andre Palakai from Ontario, Canada, was gunned down last Friday night on the West End main road in the resort town of Negril as he, his girlfriend and his father were walking back to their hotel from a restaurant.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting are still unclear. Police sources have told local media that robbery was not the motive. According to some reports, two men rode up to the group around 9:00pm and shot Palakai, a 35-year-old real estate agent, before speeding off. Other reports indicate that Palakai was shot as he confronted the men as they tried to take his girlfriend’s handbag.
Neither the woman nor Palakai’s father was hurt in the incident.
“It is very early in the investigations and we are going to be offering $2 million to anyone who has information that will lead to the capture of these killers,” the Jamaica Observer quoted Commissioner of Police Carl Williams as saying.
The top cop added that he had given Palakai’s father the assurance that Police would do everything in its power to find the persons responsible for his son’s death.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force says it will be working in conjunction with the Army to mount more Police/military operations in the western end of the island.
And Prime Minister Andrew Holness says his administration is working with the both the Police and Army to deal with the issue of gun violence.
“We are giving the law enforcement agencies the resources they need and support in other ways to ensure they can deal effectively with crime generally and murders in particular. Our resolve is to see a consistent reduction in crime and we are working towards that aim,” he said. ~ Caribbean360 ~
