FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Co-ordinator for the Trelawny Victim Support Unit, Rev Owen Watson said the death of eight-year-old British national Imani Green, who was shot and killed in Duncans, Trelawny, earlier this month, was not linked to lottery scamming.

"I want to set the record straight. We have heard on the news how the death of Imani was linked to the lottery scam, but I want the nation to understand that it was not so, and when the truth shall be revealed we will understand that whatever information that went out by the air was false," said Rev Watson.

Rev Watson, while delivering a tribute on behalf of the Trelawny Victim Support Unit at the thanksgiving service for Imani held at the William Knibb Baptist Church in Falmouth on Sunday, urged the mourners to be strong.

"So cheer up, my people, God will heal the wound that has shocked a great deal upon your hearts. Be blessed, be strong and resolute, and let us go forward in the strength of love," he encouraged.

Reports are that Imani, a sickler, who was visiting from London, was shot by a lone gunman who fired a barrage of bullets into a shop, operated by a relative in the Red Dirt section of Duncans.

Three other persons, including two women, were shot during the incident.

Shortly after Imani's death National Security Minister Peter Bunting reportedly said that the incident was linked to the lottery scam.

But on Sunday, Bunting told reporters in Trelawny that his comment was based on the initial reports he got from the police shortly after the incident.

"What I said was that preliminary information on one of the leads was being followed. But since then I haven't had a recent brief from the police to see how that played out in terms of the investigations," he explained.