Update | Double blow for Dean family as second daughter killed

The family of 11-year-old Ananda Dean, whose rape and murder sparked national outrage more than a decade ago, is reliving that agony after her 27-year-old sister Shanice was killed in a shocking funeral attack on Tuesday.

Gunmen struck early in the afternoon at the Meadowrest Memorial Park in Spanish Town, killing two members of a funeral party and injuring two others. The man who was killed has not been identified.

The devastated stepfather, who was visibly in shock and unable to maintain his composure, described hearing the shots and how he ran for cover. Shanice was not so fortunate.

“Imagine me come here to bury my mother and now dem kill mi daughter. This not normal. We just celebrate her birthday,” the stepfather said, while clutching a handbag that belonged to Shanice.

The incident occurred just as the funeral party was getting ready to depart from the cemetery.

Travelling in a dark-blue Honda Odyssey with tinted windows, gunmen drove inside the memorial park and opened fire on a group of persons who were about to board a white Toyota Voxy van that had transported attendees to the cemetery.

A licensed firearm holder who was in the vicinity reportedly returned the fire, causing the attackers to flee.

Four persons were found suffering from gunshot wounds after the firefight subsided and were taken to Spanish Town Hospital where Shanice and another man succumbed to their injuries.

Eleven-year-old Ananda was abducted and murdered in 2008. The police search and notification campaign, Ananda Alert, was named after her.

Tuesday's incident had vendors and funeral attendees scrambling for cover as multiple rounds were reported to have been discharged. Crime-scene detectives say they recovered more than 20 spent shells.

Senior Superintendent Howard Chambers, commander of the St Catherine North police, who visited the crime scene, acknowledged that the gunmen were on a killing mission.

“The shooters came for a specific person in the gathering,” he told The Gleaner.

Meanwhile, some persons who attended other funerals at Meadowrest expressed concern about the lack of adequate security at the burial ground.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story misidentified Shanice Dean's stepfather as Richard Dean, her biological dad and also father of Ananda. The man quoted in this story is her stepfather. We apologise for the error.