The shooting at the Jamaica Labour Party conference held on Sunday at the National Arena in Kingston brought the violence, which we face everyday, right before the eyes of our political leaders.

This incident was perhaps as close to home as anything some of them have ever witnessed and we can only hope it will get them to realise the reality that many Jamaicans are faced with daily.

For many people living in our country, incidents such as that one are a part of everyday life. For many, including children, seeing a dead body is almost the norm and for such a small country, it is a shame that almost every citizen knows someone that was affected, whether directly or indirectly, by violence.

Bringing home the gravity of the situation

Though we are in no way happy that such an incident occurred, claiming the life of someone, we hope that such a close call will bring home the gravity of the situation to our leaders and they will be moved to put serious measures into place. For many of them, violence is something they only hear or read about. Having it happen so close, we hope will spur some action and put wheels that have been stationary for years, into motion.

An incident such as this, though, shows that practically nowhere is safe. Large gatherings are especially dangerous and should be avoided because as we have seen, anything is possible.