Woman shot dead in front of her 8-year-old daughter

Leon Small, boyfriend of gunshot victim Aninka “Ninka” Stowe, said she fell into his arms, moments after being shot.

Stowe, 23, a shopkeeper of Redemption Sharpes, became this country’s 30th homicide for 2014 on October 20, when she was shot twice while coming out of a shop at Green Hill.

Police say that Stowe was shot in the right shoulder and on the left side of her chest.

According to a distraught Small, he was in the shop with Stowe and her daughter at about 8 p.m. when they decided to close for the night.

“The place been dead and so on and we been done gather some groceries to carry to one of the victim’s family that been recently get shoot in Green Hill,” Small recounted.

He said as his girlfriend exited the door, he heard what sounded like gunshots.

“I now going to step down to lock up the gate and all I hear is bam, bam! She hold she chest and say Oh God! and run and hold on pon me…,” Small painfully recalled.

He said the weight of his girlfriend caused him to fall back into the shop.

“She eyes them roll up. Dead! I run outside because me alone couldn’t lift she up. I run fo see if somebody could help me. It had a man come and help me, but we coulda only bring her to the shop’s door,” Small stated.

It was then he said other people came and helped place Stowe in a jeep. He, however, noted that she appeared to be already dead.

“I just can’t get the picture out of my head. The girl (Aninka) was gunned down in front of her daughter. I can’t self talk or eat. Only thing I do is drinking juice and them thing dey,” Small said, as Stowe’s eight year-old daughter stood silently beside him.

Meanwhile, Stowe’s mother, Esther Stowe, said she’s lost her “hand and foot.”

“She was very intelligent and ambitious. It’s like I lose my hand and foot. Aninka was just very helpful to me. She used to help me out in the shop a lot,” Stowe said on Wednesday.

At the time of the shooting, Stowe said she was in bed when her stepson came to the house and related the dreadful news.

“He say “them just shoot Ninka.” He say “it look like she dead.” I just start to cry when he tell me so,” the mother of two said.

“I really can’t get over this. I feel really bad. I just can’t believe it until now.”

As a result of the incident, Stowe said she’s now afraid to keep the shop open after sundown.

“I go open back the shop soon, but not sure about nights. I am scared about the nights. Her daughter has been getting nightmares since the thing happened. She jumping out of her sleep too,” Stowe added.

At press time on Wednesday, police confirmed that one man was in custody assisting with investigations into the matter.

Stowe’s murder brings to 30 the number of recorded homicides for 2014.