MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Even as police here have launched a manhunt for a gunman who posed as a passenger in a taxi before disembarking the vehicle and killing two passengers on Saturday, detectives are struggling to make sense of the incident as up to press time they had not determined a motive for the attack.

“It is senseless…He paid his fare and got his change and the vehicle drove off and he just fired shots on it. The motive is not clear, because why would you shoot up a vehicle with seven people,” a senior police source told the Jamaica Observer on Sunday.

Police identified those killed as Deneekia Pounall, 24, a nursing student at Knox Community College, a resident of Heartease in the parish, and her neighbour 21-year-old Sadefa Henry.

An undated photo of 21-year-old Sadefa Henry, one of two people killed when a gunman opened fire on a taxi he was travelling in on Saturday.

According to the police, about 7:30 pm on Saturday, Pounall and Henry were seated in a Toyota Voxy operated as a public passenger vehicle on the Mandeville to Royal Flat route when a man, who was a passenger in the vehicle, disembarked at a section of Caledonia Road commonly referred to as Horseshoe Curve.

The man reportedly opened fire on the seven occupants of the taxi, hitting the two who were seated at the back of the vehicle.

They were taken to the Mandeville Regional Hospital where Pounall was pronounced dead on arrival, while Henry later succumbed to his injuries.

Residents of Heartease told the
Observer on Sunday that Pounall and Henry lived in neighbouring apartments at a property in the community.

The shattered back and side glass of the Toyota Voxy operated as a taxi. Kasey Williams

“She was such a calm girl. She nuh talk, and the guy was quiet and humble, so this incident is quite puzzling,” said a resident who requested anonymity.

The double murder has increased the number of homicides reported in Manchester to 20 since the start of the year.

Just last week acting head of the police’s Area Three, Senior Superintendent Shane McCalla, predicted that fewer than 94 murders will be recorded across Manchester, Clarendon, and St Elizabeth by year end, following the launch of Operation Reset last month.

Detectives standing beside the taxi which was fired on during the shooting incident. Kasey Williams

“We are trending upwards in the murder and aggravated assaults, so Operation Reset was primarily designed to address this…and in terms of the acquisitive crimes, we are trending down by 104. This is our commitment to the High Command that Area Three will deliver in December,” he told the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s High Command last Wednesday at the Mandeville police station.

McCalla gave a breakdown of murders statistics down the years in Area Three. He said in 2023 there were 189 murders, in 2024 there were 150 murders, while 94 murders were recorded last year.

“Year to date we have 58 [murders]. Despite seeing some issues where St Elizabeth is concerned… I am convinced and I am committing to you that we will end under the 94 [in December],” he vowed.