Children in firing line
Paediatric surgeon points to epidemic of trauma cases plaguing youngsters impacted by violence
Published:Thursday | October 9, 2025 | 12:12 AMCorey Robinson/Senior Staff Reporter
Some 453 children under the age of 12 suffered violence-related injuries in 2024, a mere snapshot of what paediatric surgeons believe is an epidemic of trauma cases plaguing Jamaica’s most vulnerable group, particularly those trapped in the path of savagery.
Most of the cases, medical professionals believe, go unreported; while fewer than five per cent of those injuries are gunshot related - mainly because gunshot wounds in children usually cause heavy blood loss, and quite often end in death.
Dr Simone Dundas Byles, president of the Jamaica Association of Paediatric Surgeons (JAPS), pulled on the statistics from the Ministry of Health’s Injury Surveillance System, as she reflected on the challenges associated with treating trauma in the nation’s children.
In total, some 8,435 children suffered injuries from unintentional trauma, such as slips and falls; while the 453 intentional injuries included blunt force trauma, lacerations and a small number of gunshot wounds. Some 449 children suffered road crash-related trauma, another serious concern for the medical professional. The data was compiled from 12 government health institutions from January to December 2024.
Dundas Byles’ sentiments came in the wake of a spate of shootings and murders involving the island’s youngest in recent weeks - the latest on Tuesday night when four minors, two children below 10 and two teenagers, were among six people shot in a drive-by shooting on Text Lane in central Kingston.
Reports are that four men alighted from the car and fired indiscriminately. At least three persons were treated and released from the hospital yesterday afternoon.
“We see gunshot wounds in children. Some are deliberate, but most are the child being in proximity to someone else who may have been deliberately targeted. We’ve seen injuries where there has been spraying of bullets at events, such as a birthday party for children,” offered the surgeon, who said she recalls every child she has lost on her operating table.
PENETRATING TRAUMA
“The challenges that we have are what we call penetrating trauma in children, such as with gunshot wounds. The energy from this gunshot is deferred throughout the child’s small tissues, and many organs are injured,” she noted, recalling one incident involving a three-year-old. “One penetrating gunshot wound resulted in about eight holes in the bowel, there was an injury that was bleeding from the liver, and an injury to the diaphragm that is supposed to separate your lungs and breathing from your abdomen.
“This is from just one gunshot wound. So you can imagine multiple bullets. When a child survives, the mental health impact is incredible and long-lasting.”
She noted the psychological impact of such events on not only the child, but their family, and also, by extension, the medical staff, many of whom are parents of children of similar age.
“What might also seem like a small amount of blood loss from a gunshot wound in children, is really a large percentage of the child’s blood lost, and they go into shock relatively easily. We have to control bleeding; we have a chronic shortage of blood products,” she said, noting there are three major paediatric trauma centres islandwide.
Late into yesterday afternoon, sections of central Kingston remained tense, pedestrians staying wide of the ill-fated area as police and soldiers carried out detailed checks on anyone of interest. The area had not been so desolate since a lull in shooting incidents that lasted for several months, residents noted.
Others explained that it might have stemmed from the death of a woman shortly before last month’s general election and that gangsters had been waiting after that event.
Superintendent Beresford Williams, who is in charge of the Kingston Central Police Division, declined to speak about details of the investigation, noting, however, that the police are determined to pull out all the stops in identifying the shooters and restoring order.
“We know that it involves members of the Text Lane Gang and other opponents, and we are trying to prevent reprisals coming out of the association in Text Lane. So that is what we are dealing with now,” offered Williams, adding, “It had been very peaceful for the last two years; we hadn’t had any major incidents up until last night. So we are hoping, despite last night, to ensure that the peace remains.”
He urged residents of the community with supporting information to call 876 236-1581 and 876 432-2373. Both are contacts for lead investigators in the case, he said.
Meanwhile, Dundas Byles said that on November 9, JAPS will host its 2nd Annual Scientific Symposium, exploring ‘Childhood Trauma: From Risk to Recovery’. A slew of medical and paediatric professionals are slated to participate.
Yesterday, in response to Gleaner queries, one of the slated presenters, who asked not to be identified at this time, offered that in children, “gunshot wounds are very fatal, and most children who are shot do not reach the hospital in Jamaica”.
The Kingston Central Police Division has recorded 13 murders for the year as of October 4. This represents a 35 per cent decline, compared to the similar period in 2024.