Deputy head girl shot at wake

What started out as a great day for a teen in Cudjoe Hill, St Catherine, on Tuesday, nearly ended in her death in the wee hours of the following day.

The 15-year-old, who is the deputy head girl at her high school, was in a jubilant mood, as she learnt she had scored a grade 2 in a CAPE subject that she sat in Grade 10. Later, she was among persons attending a wake for a neighbour. But laughter turned to screams of terror as a gunman fired several shots in her direction, one which hit her in the leg. Two of her relatives were also shot and injured. One of them related how she froze with fright as the incident unfolded.

"Lawd Jeesas, a right here suh mi stand up and mi family dem stand up in the yard. Dem never deh with the crowd in the set up. The guy walk up and just start fire and everybody run off. He was walking with gun. It was two of them but I only saw one. Him just a walk come down the hill and just a fire. I don't know what happened but I couldn't move. All I could do was shout to my children to run, but my knees got weak and I couldn't move. Everyone was running and next ting I know it was just me alone stand up," she said.

The relative said the teenager and the rest of her family are in stable condition but she said she will be seeking counselling sessions for them as they are extremely traumatised.

"The girl bright enuh and she was so happy when she get the result. We are all proud of her. Her teacher called to congratulate her and when I told her what happened and that she was shot, the teacher was so shocked," the woman said.

Hopton Nicholson, commanding officer for the St Catherine North Police Division, said sometime after 12:30 a.m., two men opened gunfire at persons at the wake.

"Eight persons were injured, seven at the location at the wake, while another man received gunshot wounds just a little bit down the road from where the wake was being held. He succumbed to his injuries while the other seven were taken to hospital where they were treated. Some of them still remained there," he said. The deceased has been identified as 34-year-old Oniel 'Saggi' Spencer. Nicholson said this is the first incident as such in the farming community of the Point Hill area. He appealed to persons to reach out to the police with information.

Spencer is said to have spent the last few hours of his life sitting on a grave, which was just a few steps away from the spot where 78-year-old Phylis Brown, for whom the wake was held, was set to be buried.

A resident said she spoke with Spencer earlier in the night, and he invited her to his bingo party that is slated for September 1.

"Afterwards, he left and went to sit on a grave in the dark and that's where he was for the entire night. After the shooting gwan, mi start bawl out for help when mi see say people get shot, and mi ask Saggi to help mi but him step past mi," she said.