At least three top-level probes have been launched into a dramatic early morning murder in St Catherine yesterday that culminated in a high-speed car chase and a deadly shoot-out involving an off-duty cop and the alleged attackers, who turned out to be his colleagues. The rogue cops were on suspension from the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Mobile Reserve outfit to which they are assigned.

One of them was killed in the shoot-out, another arrested, while the third escaped, police sources have reported. A motorist was also killed in the crossfire.

The cop who escaped, Corporal Kirk Fraser, and the one arrested, are on bail in connection with a 2015 murder for which they were charged in 2017. The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) is investigating whether the three suspended policemen were contract killers who used police resources and intelligence to facilitate their criminal undertakings.“That’s one of the theories we’re looking into right now. As you can imagine, there is a lot to look at, but based on what we have seen and the knowledge we have of these guys, we are certainly looking at that,” a senior INDECOM investigator told The Gleaner yesterday from the Spanish Town crime scene.(Jamaica Gleaner)…[+]

Gunmen have opened fire on a church in northern Burkina Faso, killing at least six people, officials say. The attackers reportedly arrived on seven motorbikes at the end of Sunday’s service and killed the pastor, two of his sons and three other worshippers. It is the first attack on a church since jihadist violence erupted in the West African country in 2016.

Fighters affiliated to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group as well as the local Ansarul Islam have been active. Sunday’s attack on the Protestant church happened in the small town of Silgadji near Djibo, the capital of Soum province, at around 12:00 local time (12:00 GMT). The number of attackers involved or their possible affiliations is not clear.(BBC)…[+]

An actor who appeared in an award-winning film about child criminals in Naples has been stabbed by an alleged member of one of the Italian city’s “baby gangs”.

Artem Tkachuk, 18, originally from Ukraine, played a young mobster in The Piranhas, which told the story of the phenomenon of baby gangs, criminal groups led by youngsters, in Naples. The title refers to lingo used by the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia, for the gangs and was based on a 2016 novel by the Italian writer Roberto Saviano.

Tkachuk was stabbed in Chiaia, a seafront neighbourhood in Naples, while out with a friend. Tkachuk told police the pair were approached by a baby gang at about 3am on Sunday morning. One of the gang members asked him if he lived in a neighbourhood called Rione Traiano, Tkachuk said, at which point he was stabbed twice in the stomach and his friend was beaten. The wounds are not serious. Police believe the youngster may have been set upon because of his role in the film, directed by Claudio Giovannesi, which won a Silver Bear best screenplay award at this year’s Berlin film festival. Tkachuk played the fictional character Tyson.(theguardian)…[+]