‘Community mother’ killed in Denham Town

Grief and shock blanket a section of West Kingston following the fatal shooting of one of their own last Sunday afternoon.

The deceased woman, Wallata Brown, is a well-known figure in the Oxford Street area of Denham Town, and is described by residents as being a 'community mother'. When THE WEEKEND STAR visited the area on Thursday, several of Brown's children gathered outside her yard. One of them, a son, spoke to the news team with sad and weary eyes.

"She was a very responsible mother, not just to me and my siblings, but to all the youth dem in the community. Every yute weh yuh see right yah so, a she responsible for dem as dem grow in her hands," he said.

According the police reports, about 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Brown, a 48-year-old businesswoman, was shot by an unknown assailant in her house on Oxford Street. The police were alerted and Brown was rushed to the Kingston Public Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Area Four Commander Senior Superintendent Michael Phipps said the getaway vehicle was intercepted in St Thomas on Sunday and a suspect was taken into custody

On Thursday, Brown's mother Hyacinth Williams was also a picture of grief. Her eyes welled up with tears as she told the news team that she had lost her "hands and foot".

"Everybody love mi daughter and she was very responsible. She wasn't a talkative person but the whole community love her. Mi did a work at a place and mi foot get sick and a mi daughter and father God make mi stand up here suh because she take care of me. Wallata was my hands and foot. All now mi can't stop cry," Williams said.