MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Police here are theorising that the murder of two men in Land Settlement, near Royal Flat, on Saturday is linked to the February 8 fatal shooting of four-year-old Saniyah O’Brien and the wounding of her father in the same community.

Police identified the men killed in the latest gun attack in Land Settlement as Damien Edwards, 21, otherwise called Damie, a resident of Melrose Gardens in Manchester, and Yakieni Shaw, 30, otherwise called Yankee, a farmer of Comfort also in the parish.

A senior police source told the Jamaica Observer that detectives are exploring several theories, including that one of the men was a suspect in the murder of Saniyah.

“One of the men who died was arrested in relation to the murder of the child. There wasn’t sufficient evidence, so he was on pre-charge bail,” the source said.

According to the police, about 3:50 pm on Saturday, Shaw and Edwards were at a bar when a motorcar drove up and a man alighted. He immediately opened fire hitting the two men multiple times. They were taken to hospital, where Shaw was pronounced dead, and Edwards died while being treated.

The area remains tense following the gun attack, with police increasing patrols in Land Settlement and surrounding communities.

Police theorise that recent killings in Land Settlement could be linked to Jamaican criminals now based overseas. Last month a senior police source pointed overseas as he told the
Observer what could be behind the attack on Saniyah and her father.

“It is a very unfortunate situation, and the gunmen fired indiscriminately on a bus with three children and the man in it when the man was the intended target. We could have had three children dead based on the indiscrimination of the criminals. We have it that there is an international connection to it with some overseas players…” a highly placed police source said in February.

Saniyah and her father were shot during an ambush by a gunman about 4:20 pm in Land Settlement near Royal Flat as they sat inside a vehicle with two other children.

Saturday’s murder of the two men happened mere metres from where that ambush took place.

Last month police said a 25-year-old man, who they identified as the shooter in the ambush, had been arrested and charged. He was identified as Oneish Copeland, otherwise known as Dabba, a labourer from New Wales, Manchester.

Copeland remains in custody facing charges, including murder, wounding with intent, and conspiracy to commit murder.

At that time head of the Manchester Police Division Superintendent Carey Duncan said the police were still pursuing suspects who may have assisted Copeland in committing the murder.

“We know as a fact that Copeland was not acting alone in this heinous crime and so we are actively pursuing other suspects,” Duncan said on February 18.

Murder victim Yakieni Shaw, 30, otherwise called Yankee.

Murder victim Damien Edwards, 21, otherwise called Damie.

The bar where two men were shot dead on Saturday in Land Settlement, Manchester. (Kasey Williams)

A police unit assigned to the Proactive Investigation Unit is parked near the double murder scene in Land settlement on Saturday. (Kasey Williams)

An undated photo of four-year-old Saniyah O’Brien who was killed in a gun attack on February 8 in Land settlement, Manchester.