Jamaica killing of eight-year-old girl leaves neighbours distraught

Reports have named the schoolgirl as Imani Green, who was killed in the town of Duncans on Friday night.

Imani, from Balham, south London, is understood to have died after being shot twice, including once in the head, in what may have been a revenge attack, reports suggested.

Imani’s sister, Janella Parmer, told the BBC: “We heard gunshots. We ran outside and shouted ‘Imani, Imani, Imani’.

“I picked her up off the ground and realised she was still breathing.

“I flagged down a car and they drove us to hospital. The rest is history.”

Neighbours in Britain yesterday spoke of their sorrow following the girl’s death.

One friend of the family, who asked not to be named, said: “This is a close-knit community, so this is going to hurt us.”

Another added: “Nobody wants to speak, she was just a little girl. This is all so sad. We’re distraught.”

Neighbours said members of the girl’s family left their home at Old Hospital Close for a flight to Jamaica early yesterday morning to be with Imani’s mother.

A man who answered the door at the three-storey property declined to speak to the Press yesterday.

A British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spokesman said: “We can confirm the death of a British national in Jamaica on January 11.

“We are providing consular assistance and liaising with local authorities in Jamaica.

“We cannot comment further on cases involving minors.”

Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan, MP for Tooting, said: “(I am) devastated to hear the news of eight-year-old schoolgirl Imani Green, a pupil at a Tooting primary school. This is terrible news.”

The girl was said to have been with relatives at a café owned by her cousin when a gunman entered and opened fire following an argument.

Three others were injured in the shooting and taken to hospital for treatment, but are thought to be in a stable condition.

Police told the BBC that there are a number of lines of inquiry, but one theory is that the shooting was in reprisal for an earlier gun attack.

Imani arrived on the island with her mother shortly before New Year to stay with relatives.

Jamaica’s Security Minister, Peter Bunting, condemned the killing.

He told Jamaica’s The Gleaner newspaper: “The senseless killing of a young, innocent child must outrage all well-thinking Jamaicans, and cause us to join our security forces in an intensified effort to rid our communities of criminals.”