EVERYONE claimed yesterday not to know why it happened. Or who did the shooting in bright midday sunlight on Omara Road in Kingston, except to say that they were in two cars — one of them a white Toyota Corona.

But by the time the guns went quiet, two men lay dead. One of them was identified only by his nickname, “Saltfish”. The other was Jermaine Mowatt, 24, the father of two, including a six-month-old baby girl, Dominique.

Two other young men were injured in the drive-by shooting — the national footballer Damion Williams and another man whose name was not released by the police. The shooting of Williams, who plays for Portmore United, was confirmed by football officials.

Hours after the Omara Road incident, a man turned up at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) with gunshot wounds and later died from his injuries. Police believed that he was one of the shooters, who had earlier engaged them in a gunfight on Mahoe Drive, in the Seivwright Gardens area.

Yesterday afternoon, Mowatt’s mother, Jennifer Williams, stood near where her son was killed, cradling baby Dominique in her arms. Mowatt’s other child, a son, Damaine, two, was there too, sucking a finger, oblivious to the enormity of the events.

Mowatt’s body lay face down, dressed in a yellow T-shirt, black jeans and blue sneakers. He had been shot three times in the head as well as in the back and right leg.

“He was my only son,” Williams said.

She shook her head. No tears came.

Onlookers said they could think of no reason for the attack, which police said happened at around noon.

According to the police, Mowatt and “Saltfish” were walking along Omara Road when they were approached by the men in the cars. They tried to run but were cornered and shot by the occupants of one of the cars.

Having shot Mowatt and “Saltfish”, the police said, the men sped along nearby Robinson Road, firing wildly as they went.

It was later discovered that Williams and the other man were shot and injured — Williams in the arm and right instep and the other man in the buttocks. They were being treated in hospital.

The police afterwards engaged the men on Mahoe Drive but they escaped. However, one of the cars was later found abandoned in the Seaview Gardens area.

Later in the day, the injured man, who the police suspect to have been among the shooters, reached KPH, having apparently been left near the hospital by his friends.

“He was dumped by his cronies near the KPH,” said an officer at the Hunts Bay Police Station.

Cops who are investigating the shooting were attempting to identify the alleged gunman, the police said.