Jamaica declares southern state of emergency after Sunday night killings

KINGSTON (Reuters) -Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in the Caribbean nation's southern Clarendon parish after eight people were killed in separate gun attacks on Sunday night, including a seven-year-old boy.

"This is an opportunity for the government to mobilize fully to have a very serious focus on gangs," Holness told a press conference at his office. "We cannot allow murders to be normalized in our country."

The prime minister did not immediately detail what regulations would be imposed, but these can typically involve nightly curfews, longer detention periods without formal charges and the ability by police to search properties without warrants.

Holness said he hoped the measure would prevent reprisal killings, saying intelligence had warned there was a "very high probability" of retaliation attempts.

Five people have been arrested so far in relation with Sunday's shootings, Holness said.

Jamaica last year ranked as the second-deadliest country in the Latin American and Caribbean region, according to a study by Insight Crime, with 60.9 homicides per 100,000 people, second only to the small island state of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Holness noted that while the number of gangs estimated to be active in the country has shrunk from 400 to 185 in five years, the figures remain "very high."

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has been looking to clamp down on rising gun violence through stronger law enforcement and stemming imports of illegal firearms.

Around 87% of guns traced in the Caribbean come from the United States, according to U.S. government data.

The United States advises its citizens to reconsider travel to Jamaica due to crime, and to avoid Clarendon altogether, ranking the parish as "off-limits" for its embassy personnel.

(Reporting by Zahra Burton in Kingston; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Kylie Madry)