Mother murdered in front of kids

Tameka 'Aneika' Samuels was enjoying a playful evening outside a relative's home on Balmagie Avenue, St Andrew, on Tuesday.

Seated on a plastic chair, the mother of four was surrounded by a small group of delighted children. In a heartbreaking twist, gunfire erupted and within moments she was fatally shot in front of the young ones. Her daughter was also shot and injured in the attack.

Reports from the Hunts Bay police are that about 7:55 p.m., Samuels, 43, and her daughter were pounced upon by a lone gunman who opened gunfire, hitting Tameka several times to her upper body. Her daughter was shot in the right leg. Both women were assisted to the hospital, where Tameka succumbed and her daughter treated.

The culprit escaped in the area.

Balmagie Avenue appeared tense yesterday when the news team visited the usually vibrant Kingston 11 community. A woman said she was with Samuels just minutes before she was murdered.

"I was outside with her, but my baby started crying and say she want sleep, and a suh come mi go in. By the time mi reach in the house mi hear bare shot start fire," the resident said.

Initially thinking it was a drive-by shooting, she later learned that the assailant entered through a the back yard, specifically targeting Samuels.

She described Samuels as a jovial individual who was well liked by those who knew her.

"Aneika was a very nice person, everybody love her. She sell a Coronation Market and she a nice, nice big 'oman. Down the road dem live, but dem always come up here and sit," the woman said.

The community was stunned by the violence, as the area had enjoyed a period of relative peace.

The St Andrew South Police Division in which Balmagie Avenue falls, has been experiencing a reduction in murders and shootings since the start of the year. Statistics published by the Jamaica Constabulary Force indicate that 58 murders were recorded in the division as at August 3, which is 15 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year.