Jamaica • Imani Green, 8yo - Accused: unknown -

A YOUNG girl from south London was shot dead when a gunman opened fire in a grocery store

"Let me play"

- Last words of girl, 8, shot dead in Jamaica
- Gangland lottery scam link to shop gunman


By NICK PARKER and NOEL THOMPSON in Jamaica

MURDERED schoolgirl Imani Green’s tragic last words were to beg her mum to let her stay out playing.

Moments later the British youngster was gunned down in what is thought to be a gang feud over a lottery scam.

Eight-year-old Imani — on holiday in Jamaica — was hit in the head and shoulder by a hooded gunman in a grocery shop owned by her relatives. Three other family members were wounded.

Witnesses said that her mum Donna, 47, had returned to the nearby house where they were staying shortly before and told the little girl to come in.

One said Imani, who had been playing with local kids, pleaded: “Mummy, mummy, give me five more minutes.”

Cops believe innocent Imani, from Balham, South London, died in a revenge attack for a shooting last month. And police confirmed that one of those wounded in the shop is the girlfriend of a man already in custody over that incident.

He is suspected of involvement in a feud over cash gleaned from a Jamaican lottery scam. Victims in the USA send money to the gangs after being duped into believing they have scooped jackpots.

More than 500 murders over the past five years are believed to be connected to the lucrative scams.

It was also revealed that Imani suffered from sickle-cell anaemia and visited Jamaica twice a year to benefit from the warm climate.

She had flown out with her mum and sister Jamila, 19, before Christmas and was due to return later this month.

Her brother Dean Palmer, 27, fought back tears yesterday as he described his sister as “an extremely brave girl” who had coped well with her illness.

The little girl’s father Richard, at home in Balham, collapsed when he was told of the murder. Imani’s gran Sandra Fisher, said: “He had to go to hospital. He’s in a bad way. Imani was his life.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4742400/Imani-Greens-final-words-Let-me-play.html

Such a cute little girl. Violence against children is world wide. Sad that a little angel like this is taken too soon. I hope they catch the guilty one's. My heart and soul cries for her and her family. William

I saw Imani lying there..I was numb, deep sorrow to the brink of insanity

My agony, by murder mum


Cheeky ... Imani pokes tongue out on beach, just days before her murder Paul Edwards

THE mother of murdered British girl Imani Green wept last night as she told of the moment her girl was shot in Jamaica.

Speaking for the first time about the horror last month, Donna Green said she briefly left the eight-year-old to play in a cousin’s grocer’s shop.

But after hearing gunshots, she dashed back to the store and found her little daughter face down in a pool of blood.

Heartbroken Donna, 47, said: “I felt numb and shocked when I saw Imani just lying there.

“I felt the deepest sorrow you could ever imagine to the point where you feel like you’re on the brink of insanity.
Happy memory ... caring Donna and Imani smile for camera

Paul Edwards

“Imani and I were bessie mates, we went everywhere together, it was very rare that we were apart.

“She was a very special little girl and to lose her in this way has torn me apart.”

Imani had been behind the counter, pretending to be a shopkeeper, when a gunman burst in and unleashed a hail of bullets. One hit Imani in the head.

Donna and her other daughter Jamila, 19, had walked to a relative’s house nearby to drop off shopping bags. They heard several loud bangs.

Donna, of Balham, South London, said: “I’d never heard gunshots in my life but I instantly recognised the sound.”

“Jamila came running into the kitchen saying ‘Mummy, Mummy, what was that?’.

“I said ‘gun shots’ and just started to run towards the sound. I just remember running out and calling for Imani.”


The pair ran to the shop in Duncans, east of Montego Bay, and found the child’s gran Sandra Fisher and cousin Brandese Brown already there.

Donna said: “I saw them jumping up and down and screaming, and I thought what am I going to face — that’s the last place I saw Imani.

“I looked inside at an angle. I saw my daughter laying face down on the floor. There was a pool of blood near her.

“I remember turning round and throwing my hands in the air.


Child’s play ... Imani and half-brother Tyrese, nine, on holiday

“I had my sunglasses on my head and even they felt too heavy, I remember taking them off and throwing them.

“It was just madness, everyone was screaming and crying.”

Jamila ran into the shop and scooped her sister up into her arms. “That was the most amazing, bravest act for a 19-year-old child,” Donna continued. “She shouted that Imani was still breathing and I just went into auto-pilot.


“I grabbed a man I didn’t know and said, ‘drive the car, we’re going to hospital’.”

The family then made a 20-minute trip to hospital.

Jamila was in the front passenger seat holding Imani on her lap. Donna was sat directly behind her.

Donna said: “It was the longest drive of my life. But I’m a realist. I knew deep down that Imani wasn’t going to make it.

“I had to fight every desire to crumble. I just felt so helpless.

“Jamila kept saying, ‘breathe Imani, breathe’ and I remember putting my hand on her head and feeling the blood.

“We were saying, ‘Imani, everything’s gonna be alright, we love you’. I suppose it was my goodbye to her.”

Hospital staff took Imani into an emergency trauma room and Donna faced an agonising wait. Eventually a doctor came out and confirmed that Imani had died — but Donna said she couldn’t cry.

She explained: “I went into survival mode, I shut my emotions down totally. The police came and then the undertaker came and took her body away, it was all so unreal.”

Donna and her daughters had been enjoying a holiday while staying with extended family.

Jamaica’s warm climate helped Imani’s battle against rare blood disorder sickle-cell anaemia.

The three called at the grocery store after a day out shopping.

But when Donna went to leave, Imani pleaded for “five more minutes” to play. The mum recalled: “I said, ‘Alright, five minutes and we’ll come back and get you’.

“Imani was so happy. She was standing behind the counter playing shopkeeper and talking to customers — so we left her there.


“She was with her cousin and granny’s house is no more than a one-minute walk away.” Police have arrested eight people over Imani’s death. Three other people were wounded in the still unexplained attack.

Now, six weeks on, Donna is still trying to come to terms with losing her beautiful child — who she described as “an angel” with a love of music and dancing.

Breaking into smiles as she showed photos of Imani on the beach, Donna said: “She loved going to Jamaica.

“She had so many happy times there, she felt free of her condition, free from restrictions.

“As soon as her eyes opened in the morning, she’d jump out of bed, open the door and go outside. She befriended all the animals, the stray dogs, the goats, and she’d run to say good morning to her grandma in the garden. She’d be outside for hours.”

Donna maintains that Duncans is a safe, close-knit community.

And she insisted that, despite the tragedy, she will return. She said Jamaica will always have a special place in her heart.


She revealed Imani was very close to sister Jamila, brother Dean, 27, and decorator dad Richard, who collapsed in shock after learning of Imani’s death in a phone call back to the UK.

Donna, who was Imani’s full-time carer, said: “She was my life, my career, my reason for getting up in the morning.”

Since the tragedy, Donna has received hundreds of condolence messages from well-wishers.

She said: “I would like to thank, from the depths of my heart and soul, the people who sent me cards, flowers, lit all the candles and held all the vigils. Thank you so much.”

Donna is relying on family and friends to get through the tough times ahead. But she added: “A part of me died that day and I will never, ever, be the same again.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4810928/Mother-of-murdered-British-girl-Imani-Green-weeps-as-she-tells-of-the-moment-her-girl-was-shot-in-Jamaica.html

Such a cutie. I hope she gets justice. William