INDECOM probes fatal police shootings as death toll climbs to 37 for April

The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has launched probes into four separate incidents involving members of Jamaica’s security forces in which five men were fatally shot on Monday.

The deceased have been identified as Ricardo Gayle, 25-year-old Paul Francis, 27-year-old Omar Hooke, 42-year-old Justin Bondfield, and 39-year-old Peter Gooden.

According to INDECOM, Gayle was shot and killed by soldiers at a Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO) checkpoint in August Town, St Andrew. Francis and Hooke were fatally shot by police in Five West, Greater Portmore, St Catherine. Bondfield was killed in Wheelerfield District, Golden Grove, St Thomas, while Gooden was shot by police in May Pen Town Centre, Clarendon.

The agency noted that two of the incidents—those in August Town and May Pen—reportedly involved individuals with mental health conditions.

INDECOM said investigators have already processed all four scenes, recovering and packaging evidential material, while also swabbing the hands of the deceased for gunshot residue and photographing the bodies ahead of post-mortem examinations.

Officers involved in the incidents have been served with Section 21 Notices under the Independent Commission of Investigations Act, 2010, requiring them to submit statements and attend interviews.

The latest cases push Jamaica’s fatal shooting figures involving the security forces to 37 for April 2026. Year-to-date, 113 people have been fatally shot, compared with 106 over the same period in 2025.

INDECOM has not yet released findings on the circumstances surrounding the latest incidents, but says investigations remain ongoing.