Police Shootings Prompt Outrage In Jamaica

Published March 8, 2012 9:36PM (EST)

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Armed security personnel are manning roadblocks and have detained dozens of young men as part of a crackdown in a Jamaican ghetto where a 13-year-old girl, two elderly men, and three others were killed during reported shootouts between police and gunmen.

Residents of the Denham Town slum in West Kingston blame officers for the killings and the gritty area has been under curfew amid an ongoing security operation.

Human rights groups accused police of trigger-happy tactics across Jamaica that have caused 45 deaths in just the first 10 weeks of the year. A total of 21 people were killed by police in the first six days of March.

Police said Thursday that the details of Monday's killings are still unclear.


By Salon Staff

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