Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

A 13-year-old schoolgirl and a teenage mother were shot and injured shortly after 10:00 a.m. yesterday when two unknown assailants sneaked up on them in the Albion Lane area of Montego Bay and opened fire, hitting them.

The schoolgirl, a student of a prominent Montego Bay preparatory school, suffered two bullet wounds to her upper body while the teenage mother was hit three times in her thigh and calf. Both were rushed to hospital where they were admitted in stable condition.

"Based on what we saw, I don't think the injuries are life-threatening," said Inspector Ralph Medley, of the Montego Bay police. "However, we are very concerned that such a blatant act took place in broad daylight and we are planning to maintain a presence in the area to allay the fears of the residents."

Created panic

The shooting, which took place less than 50 yards from the Albion Lane Basic School, reportedly created panic at the institution, which has a student population of 34 students. The frightened children were reportedly ushered into an empty room to take them out of the line of fire.

"Some of the them were trembling and others were crying," said head teacher Judian Saunders, who dismissed class for the day on the arrival of the police. "We are quite worried as this shooting is not an isolated case as we had other shootings here in recent weeks."

The Albion Lane residents are blaming the shooting on men from the neighbouring Canterbury community with whom they have had a long-running dispute dating back to the 1980s. The gunmen responsible for yesterday's shooting are said to be teenage enforcers loyal to an emerging area don.

"Most of the shootings are being done by little boys, some as young as 14 years old," said an elderly man, who witnessed yesterday's shooting from the roof of his house. "What I am seeing is really children with guns in their hands."

Since the start of the year, St. James has had 127 murders. The gun has been the dominant weapon in most of the killings.