Stephen Fray, a "Mentally Challenged" Gunman Holds Hostages on Canadian CanJet Flight 918 at Jamaica's Sangsters Int'l Airport

UPDATE

The gunman has been removed from the CanJet airline and is in police custody. Thank God this nightmare is over. According Jamaican Information Minister Daryl Vaz, the "mentally challenged youngster" was apparently upset over a failed relationship.



Well, this is indeed a first for Jamaica -- an airplane being hijacked. I was dozing off last night and the last thing I recall hearing was that an airplane had been hijacked in Jamaica, but I thought to myself, that can't be. I was mistaken. According to Fox News, Stephen Fray, a mentally challenged 20-year old man, hijacked CanJet Flight 918, a Canadian charter plane on the tarmac at Donald Sangster International Airport, located on the outskirts of Montego Bay. He is currently holding the flight crew hostage, after setting the passengers free, having robbing several of them first. All I can say is, he'd better step off the plane peacefully. The Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper is in Jamaica for a one-day visit and that's certainly not the way Prime Minister Bruce Golding wanted him to be welcomed to the island.

Television Jamaica reports Prime Minister Golding, along with national security ministers, have flown in by helicopter to oversee negotiations with the gunman. The hostage situation began at 10:30 p.m. local time when the man breached security systems, possibly using an airport staff entrance, and providing several fake identification cards.

Flight 918 was carrying 182 passengers and crew. All passengers have been safely removed from the aircraft, but CanJet crew and the armed man remain on board. The motives of the gunman are unknown at this time and officials say the situation is ongoing. Source: Fox News

This incident begs the question of how did this man gain access to a restricted location within the airport building? According to the Gleaner, an official said that the man threatened personnel in the terminal before proceeding to the aircraft. He was still not restrained because there were no armed security personnel in the terminal. The Gleaner further states that a senior official at MBJ Airports Limited said armed security personnel are not usually in the terminal and that it is an internationally accepted practice. Really? That seems strange that you have a man issuing threats and no-one bats an eye, let alone approach the man to ascertain his state of mind.

It’s reported that as soon as the man boarded the flight he issued orders that he wanted to go to Cuba. Though this is an isolated incident, nonetheless, it raises some serious concerns about security at the airport and heads should roll for this. Unfortunately for Jamaica, which depends heavily on tourism, this incident will have some fallout and may hurt the country's image. Considering the economic challenges the island is facing, this is the last thing they needed, but the damage isn't irreparable. They need to bring this to a close sooner, rather than later. The longer this drags on, the longer it stays in the news and could have an effect on the country's image.