A St Andrew community is in mourning following the brutal murder of a 14-year-old girl after she was sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times by an intruder at her home Thursday afternoon.

The teen, identified as Price Johnson, a ninth-grade student of Haile Selassie High School, was at home in Palm Grove Court on Spanish Town Road when a man believed to be of unsound mind forced his way into the apartment and committed the gruesome acts, then escaped.

She was rushed to Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) where she succumbed to her injuries.

Late Thursday evening Johnson’s mother, Eugene Wade, shocked by the barbarity of the crime, wept bitterly.

“Father God, a you mi live fah, God; mi lift mi hand to you, so why my little girl? Weh mi do, God, weh mi do?” she said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

The mother’s pain was even more palpable, given that she was asleep in the apartment at the time.

Superintendent Damion Manderson, head of the St Andrew South Police Division, told the Jamaica Observer that detectives were met by a macabre scene upon their arrival at the apartment.

“We were called to Palm Grove around 1:59 pm to a particular room. Upon getting there the unsightly scene met the officers of a young girl with multiple stab wounds. They did their necessary checks, as trained, and they realised that there were still signs of life and so, with assistance, they got her into the service vehicle and on to KPH,” Manderson said.

He said the victim had “apparently been sexually molested and wounded” by the assailant who also attacked and injured a male resident who had tried to accost him.

Manderson said the police are now working with residents and the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse in probing the incident. There was no named suspect up to press time.

It is understood that Price resided at the apartment with her mother and younger brother.

The incident has left a dark cloud over Palm Grove Court, with residents expressing disbelief and shock over the tragedy.

“Me feel shaken up about the situation to know that 15 years me live here so and it’s the first me a see something like this, and it’s a promising young lady,” said a resident of the apartment complex.

Other residents described the teenager as quiet and well-mannered.