The police have issued a caution about spreading false information.

The warning comes as a viral message being circulated attempted to link a supposed relative of a government minister to last night’s fatal shooting in St. Philip.

Sources told the Starcom Network News that the minister in question has no stepson, contrary to what was being suggested.

The sources, said to be very familiar with the minister and his family, described the rumour as malicious, baseless and patently untrue.

Meantime, the service says it has been drawn to their attention that there is a proliferation of social media postings which feature information that is misleading and has no factual content.

The service adds that, at times, these posts are false and that the authors of such postings set out to sensationalize stories, issues, and events that mislead readers and create a feeling of uneasiness amongst the general public.

The Barbados Police Service is advising the public to seek their information from credible and reliable sources.

The service cites as one specific example comments circulating relating to the shooting incident, which occurred at Four Roads, St. Philip on Monday, June 19th, 2023.

The police stress that the Social Media posting suggests a set of circumstance particularly alleging that certain persons are involved which at this stage police have no evidence to corroborate.