The Political Ombudsman has sought to clarify that a previous statement about the shooting incident in the Central Kingston constituency was not meant to imply that the incident was politically motivated.

The Ombudsman issued a statement yesterday, in the wake of Tuesday’s incident, calling for peace and calm.

It’s reported that on Tuesday, armed men opened gun fire in the direction of Member of Parliament for Central Kingston Donovan Williams and his campaign team.

In condemning the incident, the Ombudsman said acts of violence, retaliation and intimidation, politically motivated or otherwise, are to be neither accepted nor tolerated.

In a follow up statement today, the Ombudsman said following consultation, subsequent to the release of its statement yesterday, the office recognizes that the tone of the statement does not fully reflect the intended message.

Consequently, the Ombudsman sought to make it abundantly clear that it is in no way classifying the incident which took place in the constituency of Kingston Central on August 5, as politically motivated, nor does the ombudsman make any pronouncement about the circumstances surrounding that incident.

The Ombudsman, in recognizing that reports of the incident may influence public perception of the situation, urged calm among campaign supporters and the general public, as the police conduct their investigations into the matter.

The office said its appeal expressed in the statement was a general call for peaceful and responsible campaigning and was not directed at any particular political representative or supporter associated with the Kingston central constituency nor the alleged incident.