National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang has weighed in on the murder of Marlon ’41 Busshead’ Samuels, a popular TikTok personality who was killed in Montego Bay on Friday night.
Chang described the connection between Samuels and an alleged gang leader as “purely coincidental”.
“The fact that this TikToker is related to someone who is considered a leader in the underworld in Montego Bay is purely coincidental,” Chang said on Saturday.
The St James police have not yet established a motive for the killing, but Chang acknowledged that Samuels’ connection to “elements which are currently in conflict” raises concerns about potential violence in the area.
“Last night’s killing opens up the potential of a gang conflict, which we are aware of. I’ve asked, and I know the police are going to take every step to prevent the kind of retaliation and war that could break out between two gangs in Montego Bay,” Chang told journalists during a tour of Sangster International Airport. “They (the police) will move aggressively and hard to disrupt any of that.”
Samuels, 23, was shot and killed by unknown assailants around 10 pm on North Lane near Sam Sharpe Square in Montego Bay.
His death comes just one day before his birthday and follows the high-profile killing of social media influencer Xavier ‘Niah Gang’ Fogah, who was shot and killed on December 7 during a live TikTok feed in St Catherine.
Despite concerns about the intersection of social media and violence, Chang stated that there are no plans to restrict the use of social media platforms in Jamaica.
“Jamaicans enjoy the social media space. We are talkers…. I don’t think there’s any systematic attempt to silence any member of it, from any angle at all,” said Chang, who is also Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for St James North Western.
