BOTTOM PEN, St James – A 16-year-old schoolgirl was yesterday shot and injured in this volatile community, in what investigators said could be a reprisal for Monday’s murder of 19-year-old chef Andre Turner.

The teenage girl, whose name was withheld by the police, has been admitted to hospital in stable condition.

The police reported that the girl was walking along a road in the community at about 7:30 am when she was approached by two armed men, who opened fire, hitting her in the neck.

Yesterday’s shooting was the second violent incident in retaliation to the murder of the chef on Monday. Just hour after the chef’s death, a five-apartment house in the Bottom Pen community was torched in an apparent reprisal over the murder of Turner.

A source with close ties to the area said the house was owned by a relative of one of the men suspected of being involved in the murder of Turner.

A strong contingent of senior police, led by Assistant Commissioner Denver Frater, yesterday toured the Bottom Pen area as well as the neighbouring Salt Spring, another crime hotbed.

Turner was shot next door to his house in the Bottom Pen area of Glendevon as he walked along a road in the community. He was shot all over his body by his assailants.