A five-year-old girl was murdered while she slept at her home in Duhaney Park, Kingston early this morning.

She has been identified as Denique Salmon.

The child’s mother, Cary Salmon, told OBSERVER ONLINE that she was asleep at home about 1 am when gunshots rang out in the area. When the gunfire subsided, Denique was found suffering with gunshot wounds.

“When I looked, I see blood coming out my baby mouth and her eyes pulping, so I called 119. They honestly responded quick and rush my child to the Children’s Hospital. She was already gasping her last breath, and they pronounced her dead at 1:45 am,” the mother revealed.

According to Kirk Ricketts, commanding officer for the St Andrew South Police Division, this morning’s killing was just a “continuation” of what has been happening in the area of late.

“This particular area has been having a problem with gang activities over a period of time so this morning was just a continuation of what we have been seeing. Sometime after 1:00 am two warring factions went at it, exchanging gunfire and, of course, the terrible tragedy happened where a round went into a home and killed 5-year-old Denique Salmon in her sleep,” he said.

He added that: “It’s really something that is unexplainable that we could have these criminals moving through the community at that time of the morning and engaging in this kind of reckless behaviour that would have caused the death of a child.”

Investigations are ongoing.