Nine-year-old female student murdered

The Bronte community in Westmoreland has been plunged into mourning following the death of a nine-year-old girl on Tuesday night.

Head of the Westmoreland police, Senior Superintendent Gary McKenzie, told THE STAR that the child left for school on Tuesday morning and never returned home.

"When she didn't return home, her parents launched a search, and she was found in an adjoining district," he said.

"Investigations by the police led to a 13-year-old boy being taken into custody. Based on how she was seen, we have suspicions that she was probably strangled and interfered with," he said.

Reports are that the child was travelling with a group of friends, including the 13-year-old boy, at around 3:30 p.m. before she went missing.

"She was a very quiet child. She was mannerly and did her work well. She was from a Christian home, and she didn't get into any trouble," said Charmaine Samuels, principal of the New Works Primary School.

"She was in grade three and would have done her diagnostic test today. The teachers and students are distraught. Just about every agent has visited, and some are still here to give us support," she added.

Floyd Green, minister of state in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, said he was shocked when he heard about the incident.

"It shows clearly that as a country we must go back to the days of the village raising the child. No child should ever feel unsafe. The killing of any child must be condemned in the strongest possible term," he said.