Baby Shot While Being Breastfed; 6 Others Shot, 1 Dead in Kingston

Princess HenryDecember 6, 2023

A group of people were at a cookshop inside the Norman Manley Market which is located on Pink Street, Dunkirk, Kingston, when a car arrived on the scene and started shooting in the direction of the individuals.

The incident took place at around 12:50 PM on Tuesday and according to reports, a black car filled with men wielding guns descended on the group, hitting seven individuals in the process, including a one-year-old baby boy who was being breastfed by his mother.

All injured parties were rushed to KPH (Kingston Public Hospital) for treatment, however, one man, identified as just ‘Tyson’, passed away not long after reaching the hospital.

Several people at the scene of the shooting recounted their versions of what happened with one man telling the Jamaica Star that, “It come like the shot dem bun the people dem. Mi feel it for them. From dem take up Tyson mi know him dead because his marrow was running out from him on the ground.”

A woman who was heading towards her place of work stated that she heard gunshots and was so frightened that she ran into someone else’s establishment about 10 minutes away from the shooting but found it hard to be calm even when offered water. Another bystander spoke about hearing the gunshots and sprinting to go check on his brother, only to be relieved that he was only struck by a bullet in his hand.

Speaking on the child that was shot and his mother, a resident of the area mentioned, “From dem reach outta KPH, dem just move with the baby fast because he was bleeding a lot from his belly. Him mother look like she get shot in her hand. At first she never know she get shot, enuh, is we tell her.” The resident also stated that the woman was breastfeeding the child when the incident took place and that she was walking around in a state of panic after.