British girl, 8, dies in Jamaica gun attack

The eight-year-old British girl who died in a Jamaican gun attack had gone to Jamaica because she had sickle-cell anaemia. When the eight-year-old British girl, Imani Green, was on one of her twice a year visits to Jamaica to get away from London’s cold winter weather, she became the victim of a Jamaican gun attack, reports Sky News on Jan. 13, 2013.

“Imani Green, eight, was visiting relatives on the island with her mother when she was shot in the northwestern village of Duncans, in Trelawny.”

According to a Jamaican local journalist, Imani Green was on one of her relative’s properties on Friday when the shooter came onto the property, argued with another man, and then suddenly began shooting.

Kingston’s Deputy Superintendent Steve Brown spoke to Sky News and said that a motive for the shooting has not yet been determined. However, Kingston’s police can confirm that British Imani Green was not the target of the shooting.

Imani Green, who was with her relatives on the property during the shooting spree, was shot once in the head and once in the shoulder. She died at the hospital.

Besides Imani Green, three other people were shot during the shooting spree.

The eight-year-old British girl form Balham, south London, was known among family members, teachers, and peers as "an extremely brave girl," says Imani Green’s brother who is in his 20s.

For her twice a year visits to Jamaica, the British girl had been given special permission to travel to the warmer Jamaican climate in order to get away from London’s cold climate which worsened her sickle-cell anaemia.

While in Jamaica, eight-year-old Imani Green attended Fircroft Primary School, a Jamaican local primary school. Imani Green’s head teacher said that Imani Green was a “happy, playful child who was popular with staff and pupils alike. … She dealt with her illness very bravely and coped well with the special arrangements we had to have in place to support her.”

Imani Green’s head teacher also said that the news about Imani Green’s death shocked everyone and that "Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, to whom we pledge our continuing love and support."

Imani Green’s Jamaican primary school has now the daunting task of contacting the families of Imani Green’s classmates and tell them about the shooting attack and Imani’s death. The primary school is offering its support and counseling.

Back in London, Imani Green’s relatives are devastated and asking themselves why an eight-year-old British girl who had gone to Jamaica to feel better had to die in a Jamaican gun attack and why an eight-year-old girl who was such “a sweet, innocent girl” with always a “smile on her face" will never return home again.

More articles by this author…

Money/Shopping:

Strange News: