Jamaica shark attack: Teenage boy Jahmari Reid’s body found without a head near Montego bay

Matt Shrivell
The Nightly
A teenager has been killed after a reported shark attack in Jamaica.
A teenager has been killed after a reported shark attack in Jamaica. Credit: D.Parer & E. Parer-Cook/Supplied

Local fishermen have made a gruesome discovery after a body was found without a head in waters near a popular tourist haven in Jamaica.

Police identified the victim as 16-year-old Jahmari Reid from the northern parish of Trelawny, located just east of Montego Bay.

The teen reportedly went spearfishing alone early Monday, with fishermen finding his body the following day with injuries consistent with a shark attack, police said in a report late Tuesday.

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A local newspaper, the Jamaica Star, is reporting that the head and left hand had been bitten off in the attack.

The boy’s father, Michael Reid, made a brief statement after being informed that his son, who was in Year 10 at high school, had been killed.

“I can’t believe that he went to sea by himself ... and that was the outcome. Sad to know. I feel so bad,” Mr Reid told the Jamaica Observer.

Fisherman Christopher Reynolds said a group of divers discovered the body and brought it to shore.

‘’A big tiger shark was spotted in the water near where it happened but divers haven’t managed to catch it,’’ Reynolds said.

Shark attacks are rare, with a total of 69 confirmed unprovoked attacks worldwide and 14 fatalities reported last year.

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