A schoolgirl from Balham has died after being shot twice, once in the head, in what may have been a revenge attack. She has been named as Imani Green.
Imani was killed in the little town of Duncans on Friday night, where she was with relatives at a café owned by her cousin. An altercation is said to have taken place during which a man took out a gun and opened fire, hitting four people. They were all taken to hospital but Imani did not survive. The others are thought to be in a stable condition.
Imani's brother Dean Palmer is flying out to the island today. He described her as an "extremely brave" girl, who suffered from sickle cell anaemia, as a result of which she was taken to Jamaica about twice a year as the sun was a remedy for some aspects of her illness. She had arrived there this time just before New Year.
There is now a suggestion that this may have been a targetted killing, a reprisal of some sort.
Her local MP, Sadiq Khan tweeted this morning that he was devastated to hear what happened.
The Foreign Office has confirmed the death, which took place on Friday, and said it is providing consular assistance to the family.
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."
