BARRETT TOWN, St James — The bloodletting in the western parish of St James continued yesterday when four people — a mother, her son and his friend, as well as a female bartender — were shot dead by gunmen in two incidents in Barrett Town and the adjoining Barrett Hall community.

Both incidents reportedly occurred shortly after1:00 am yesterday.Those killed in the Barrett Town incident when gunmen invaded their home have been identified as 59-year-old Doreen Brown, her 24-year- old son Wade Weekly; and Clayton Daley.Brown’s15-year-old grandson, who was also shot and injured during the incident, was up to late yesterday battling for his life in hospital.A Jamaica Observer West police source close to the investigations revealed that the deadly attack is believed to be a reprisal for the recent killing of a woman in the community.The police source disclosed that gangsters allegedly murdered the female community member after a fallout with one of her close relatives.Then yesterday morning, masked men armed with high-powered weapons invaded Brown’s house by kicking a door open and sprayed the occupants with bullets.Brown managed to escape the house but was caught outside and shot dead, reports say.The thugs reportedly kicked down five doors in the house during their rampage, before escaping the scene in a waiting motorcar.Meanwhile, in the nearby Barrett Hall community, unknown assailants gunned down 25-year-old bartender Nardia Cunningham shortly after the Barrett Town attack.The police were not clear if the second attack was related to the Barrett Town incident.Reports are that about 1:05 am masked men, armed with high-powered weapons, kicked open a door to the bartender’s house and shot her multiple times.Among the many community members and curious onlookers, who converged near the triple murder scene and at the police station in Barrett Town yesterday was Brown’s distraught sister, Joycelyn.The grieving sister and others in her company described her slain relative as a peaceful person who got on well with people.“She is a very nice person who did not deserve to die that way,” the distraught sister lamented.She disclosed that Brown, who suffered with a blood clot in one of her legs, spent over a month in hospital and could not even attend the recent funeral of one of her grandsons who was recently killed along with five other members of the Ski Mask Gang during a firefight with the police and soldiers in the Goodwill section of St James earlier this year.Brown was scheduled to visit hospital today for a regular check-up, her distressed sister added.Most of the onlookers were, however, tight-lipped about the latest shooting in Barrett Town, while others spoke to each other in hushed tones.Yesterday, the Member of Parliament for the area, Ed Bartlett, expressed concern over the four killings in his St James East Central constituency. Bartlett said that he was informed by the police that they are making progress in their investigations.