“Tell What You Know about Danielle Rowe’s Murder” Appeals Prime Minister Holness on National Day of Mourning
“If you saw something, I urge you, say something, we cannot allow this murder to go unsolved. The person or persons who committed this crime could very well commit other crimes, and we cannot tell who the next victim could be.”
– Prime Minister Andrew Holness
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Prime Minister Andrew Holness has renewed his call for persons with information to come forward and share what they know about the horrific murder of 8-year-old Danielle Rowe who was abducted from school and her throat slashed.
While observing the National Day of Mourning for our Children on Friday (June 23, 2023), Prime Minister Holness said the entire nation is in grief. He said, “This act, along with many other gruesome acts, that have been perpetrated on our young and vulnerable, is a blot on our conscience and on our social fabric; we cannot allow ourselves to become numb. There must be an uprising in our collective consciousness, we must draw a line in the sand and speak up about it.”
In making a further appeal, the Prime Minister said anyone who might have seen what happened, no matter how vague their recollection, should share it with the authorities.
“If you saw something, I urge you, say something, we cannot allow this murder to go unsolved. The person or persons who committed this crime could very well commit other crimes, and we cannot tell who the next victim could be,” the Prime Minister said.
At the same time, Prime Minister Holness said the state of the nation as it relates to violence and criminal acts against our children is of great concern to him. He noted that so far this year, Jamaica has recorded 7 murders of children; two were of children over 13 years while 5 were younger children who knew the perpetrators. The Prime Minister said this indicates that our children are widely impacted by domestic violence in which, though they are not directly involved in disputes, they are caught in the crossfire.
The Prime Minister is reminding the country that every Jamaican parent, guardian, family member, and citizen has both a moral and legal obligation to protect our children.
He said, “By definition, our children are vulnerable and are unable to protect themselves and that is why under the law, anyone who has knowledge of children being abused, groomed or otherwise in any form of danger must report it to the police.”
Prime Minister Holness concluded by stating that a counter-culture of violence is becoming entrenched in our society and our laws must preemptively target those violence producers on whom there is evidence and verified intelligence of their involvement in violence.