TYRA Lewis, at age two, was just beginning to say ‘mama’, ‘dada’, and few other words on her own. In fact, Tyra, the daughter of a policeman, was not yet at the age for basic school.

But yesterday, gunmen turned their assault rifles on the innocent baby, shooting her fatally in the shoulder.

The blood-thirsty gunmen also shot and seriously injured Tyra’s six-year-old sibling Rajay, her 12-year-old uncle, her 19-year-old aunt and the children’s mother, in the tough Kingston community known as African Gardens, and also referred to as ‘Vietnam’, in August Town.

About seven hours after the murder of little Tyra, and the shooting of her relatives, sleuths said they were called to an area in August Town called ‘Bottom River’, where they found the bullet-riddled bodies of two men who were branded as the child’s killers.

The two men were shot several times and bruises on their faces and other parts of their bodies suggested they were badly beaten before they were killed. However, it was not clear up to last night if they were really linked to the August Town attack.

It was the second time in under a week that gunmen were turning their weapons on children. Last Wednesday night, six-year-old Tajae Smith and his 16-year-old sister, Tavia, were shot dead in the home at Portmore Lane, a low-income section of the municipality of Portmore, about 12 miles from Kingston, the Jamaican capital.

Yesterday’s attack in August Town was carried out by a gang of rifle-toting gunmen who kicked in the family’s door before firing a barrage of gunshots, according to the police. A cop who visited the death scene said the child’s killer used an assault rifle.

“From the size of the wound the child never stood a chance, the hole was big. It was a terrible sight,” said the policeman.

Tyra’s brother, Rajay, was in surgery yesterday and early reports suggested that the six-year-old may never walk again Their uncle, Romaria Spragg, the other child in the house, the children’s mother, 23-year-old Elowene Ellis, and her sister, Denise Ellis, were all hospitalised as a result of injuries received during the attack, which took place at about 1:55 am.

Tyra and her brother are the children of a detective constable who works at the Half-Way-Tree Police Station, and yesterday some of his colleagues found it difficult to come to grips with the heinous crime. The detective was once stationed at August Town, but yesterday investigators were not sure what was the motive for the attack.

“We have nothing to suggest that the children were shot because he (the policeman) is their father,” head of the St Andrew Central Police Division, Superintendent George Quallo, said.

Meanwhile, the two men found at Bottom River were identified as Ryan Henclewood and Deanie Mitchell, 20, who were known to frequent the Vietnam area. Mitchell’s shirtless body was found slumped over a small dirt track in heavy shrubbery. He was shot more than 20 times.

There were a number of exit holes just above Henclewood’s left ear when police found his body metres away. His front teeth were missing.

Their bodies were removed by undertakers during a

heavy downpour. Onlookers who had gathered were unusually open as they cursed while the bodies of the men were being removed. The residents said the men had committed an unforgivable crime and were snuffed out in the course of jungle justice.

“Dem boy deh a baby killer and we don’t want them around here,” one woman said. “You can go look fi kill baby? Bad name dem waan gi we”.