Police seek to reassure Retirement Primary amid attacks by mentally ill man

 

Police officers have visited Retirement Primary and Infant School in St. Elizabeth to provide reassurance following safety concerns over the repeated invasion of the school by a mentally ill man.

 

The machete wielding man has invaded the school on at least three occasions since 2022, the most recent being last week when he wounded an ancillary worker who attempted to confront him.

 

Since that incident, parents have expressed fear about the safety of their children while at school, and have called for the Ministry of Education to make good on its promise to build a perimeter fence.

 

They have also claimed that the police are not doing enough to address the threat posed by the intruder.

 

Addressing the monthly meeting of the St. Elizabeth Municipal Corporation on Thursday, Superintendent Coleridge Minto, Commanding Officer for the division, said the police are addressing the matter.

 

"As we speak, a team of officers led by Operations Officer DSP Brown as well as the members of the Community Safety and Security arm of the division are currently at the school and in the space, as part of the intervention. I would have also had dialogue with the director of safety and security in the Ministry of Education on the matter and we have held discussion with representatives from the Ministry of Health," he told Thursday's meeting.