Briefly: 8-year-old British girl fatally shot in Jamaica

KINGSTON — A British schoolgirl visiting relatives in a tiny rural village in northern Jamaica was fatally shot when a lone gunman opened fire on a family at a roadside shop, officials said Sunday.

Imani Green, 8, of Balham in south London, was standing inside a clapboard grocery store and bar with relatives on Friday evening when a gunman wearing a hoodie shot the child in the head and shoulder before also shooting three adult members of her family.

Police said Sunday that the shooting it is believed to be some sort of retaliatory attack, but investigations were ongoing in the normally quiet Red Dirt district of Duncans in Trelawny parish.

The roadside business where apparently is owned by a female relative of the slain girl. There have been no arrests.

The girl died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in nearby Falmouth, a historic coastal town that is home to the tourism-dependent island’s newest cruise ship port.

The three adults were listed in stable condition.

The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office says it is providing consular assistance to the family and working with authorities in Jamaica.

James Mortimer, a press officer with the British CFO, said Sunday that Imani’s relatives were “very distressed” and “appealing for privacy.”

Imani, her mother and sister had planned on visiting relatives in Jamaica until the end of the month.

Janella Parmer, the slain child’s sister, told the BBC that she found her young sibling in a pool of blood after hearing gunshots outside.

COLOMBIA

Peace talks with FARC resume in Havana

HAVANA — Colombia’s main rebel group says it will end its unilateral cease-fire this weekend despite ongoing peace talks.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, also is calling on the government to show that it is serious about making progress in the negotiations by moving ahead more quickly.

Talks restarted Monday in the Cuban capital after a monthlong Christmas break.

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