Mother and daughter among victims in St. Catherine quadruple murder

 

A mother and daughter are among four people killed at a house in Crawle, Riversdale in St. Catherine this morning.

 

The police say the victims are Dorothy Higgins and her daughter, 45-year-old Kerrian Higgins McGrath, as well as their 38-year-old helper, Diane Nicola Johnson, and her husband, known as Kevin.

 

Five children who were inside the house were not harmed.

 

Senior Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay, head of the JCF's Corporate Communications Unit, said the children are to be handed over to relatives.

 

Residents reported hearing explosions sometime after 2 o'clock and called the police.

 

SSP Lindsay said the police have not established a motive for the attack that was carried out by at least three gunmen. 

 

"It is very early in the investigation. There are no leads. There is no clear indication as to what motivated this attack just yet. They are picking up bits and pieces of information from whoever they can talk to, and from what our intelligence community is telling us. But still, we don't know, so they are following some lines of inquiries and looking at everything that they are getting now to see if we can be closer to what led to this attack and then who are the persons responsible," she said. 

 

It's reported that the gunmen gained entry to the house by forcing open a door and grille.

 

The victims were questioned and then shot.

         

Residents of Crawle in Riversdale reportedly encountered the intruders this morning after they killed the four people.

 

One told Radio Jamaica News that two men recounted being held at gunpoint.

 

The gunmen then left the area.

 

The resident said the quadruple killing, a first of its kind in the area, has left the community shaken.