A mom of two was shot dead in a hail of bullets outside a Deveaux Street home last evening. Two of her relatives and a male friend were also shot.

The group was sitting outside on the porch at 7:00 p.m. when the shootings occurred.

The incident occurred just feet away from the Our Lady’s School, off East Street.

Joseph Ferguson, whose daughter, Shantavia Ferguson was shot, identified the two other women as his nieces Jamie Taylor, 24 and Vanessa Taylor, 28.

He did not identify the man in the group.

Vanessa, a hair braider, died on the scene.

Her two daughters ages, 8 and 5, were home at the time.

According to head of the Central Detective Unit (CDU) Anthony Ferguson, two men emerged from a vacant lot opposite the home where the victims were and opened fire.

When officers arrived at house #24, which is located just opposite Frogman Lane, they discovered that four people were shot, three women and a man.

“Upon examination it was discovered that one of the females was deceased,” Mr. Ferguson said. “The other three persons were taken to hospital.”

“The information is very sketchy at the moment and we’re still trying to determine the circumstances and the motive surrounding this latest homicide and shootings,” he said.

Meantime, Joseph, who said he was over in his shop at the time, admitted he ran inside and closed the door when he heard the gunshots.

“I can’t say how I feel right now. I’m serious. Everybody started to run, but they still got hit,” he said.

Initially, it was believed that all of the victims had died.

However, Police Superintendent Stephen Dean confirmed late last night that one of the women is in critical condition; the other woman and man are in stable condition.

A man who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Journal he knew Jamie all of his life as he grew up in the Milton Street area and knew her father well.

“I used to be through the back road and I used to try to talk to her. Someone called me and told me what was going on so I rushed [here] to make sure everything was cool and now I’m hearing what [happened]. I feel devastated. This makes no sense, these things that are going on out here. It really was just a senseless killing. I can’t put a finger on it,” he said.

“I don’t even know what to say, but I really hope they catch the criminals who did this. That could have been me or you sitting on that porch. That’s life.”