During the annual Boxing Day Street Jam at Point, a teenager was stabbed and is in critical condition at Sir Lester Bird Medical Center.
A Grays Farm youngster was critically injured, according to reports.
Several young men reportedly between the ages of 11-14 were seen passing through the much celebrated event armed with a cutlass and a knife looking for someone. Sometime after the teenager was injured which resulted in the street jam ending prematurely.
Prime Minister Browne who is the representative of the Point and Villa Community, stated that youth violence is becoming a critical problem in the country and in the broader Caribbean region, requiring urgent all-of-society intervention by stakeholders, beginning with parents.
“We need to raise better-cultured children who are hardworking, empathetic, disciplined, and not oriented to using violence to resolve conflicts. This issue threatens to undermine our developmental gains, and attainment of the SDGs requires an all-of-society intervention,” according to Browne.
PM Browne said the situation certainly requires the support and intervention of parents, teachers, policymakers, church leaders, and the broader community to resolve the issue effectively.
It’s like kicking the can down the road when you blame one stakeholder group. “Let’s work together to nurture a society that is softer, more cultured, and more productive,” Browne concluded.
It is believed that this morning’s brawl was a continuation of a feud among several youths that started during a similar event on Labour Day.