Woman shot to death in Ottley Hall, aka ‘Baghdad’

The Ottley Hall community, nicknamed Baghdad, is once again mourning the loss of one of its young mothers and according to long-time resident Florence Bowens, “It’s like crime city over here.”

Florence is the grandmother of 34-year-old Shemeal Bowens. Shemeal, the mother of five children, ages two to 16, was shot and killed at Ottley Hall at around 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday, April 12.

Shemeal was sitting at the side of the road, in the area of The Palace Nightclub, playing a game on her smartphone, when she was mortally wounded.

Unnconfirmed reports are that two gunmen shot at her brother, who was in the same area and when they missed, they turned the deadly force on her. She died on the spot, shot multiple times about her body and in her head.

Speaking to SEARCHLIGHT on Tuesday, Shemeal’s grandmother said that she is traumatized by the incident and described the act as senseless, as her granddaughter was not “in war” with anyone.

“I can’t say she was a bad person, because I never know she as a bad girl. She don’t be in violence with nobody. She don’t dey in nothing, so I was surprised when she get that kind of lick down,” said Florence, while sitting outside her shop at Ottley Hall.

She added, “if was something else, if she dey in fighting and anything happen, you know it’s different, but that kind of way dey I don’t know how to take that.”

Florence said Shemeal was awaiting her children’s return from church to escort them home when she became the seventh person to be killed violently here this year.

A post mortem was carried out on Shemeal on Tuesday, and Florence, who could not hold back tears while being interviewed, said that the incident has drained her.

“This got me weak. I can’t eat, I can’t drink. Every day I get up and when I remember, I only crying…. We were close. I don’t know what to do, only God knows,” said Florence, who revealed that her granddaughter had just received news of a job the day before she was killed.

On Friday, March 10, Shemeal was one of a number of Edinboro residents who supported the claim of her neighbour Arisha Browne that police had broken down Arisha’s front door without a warrant and searched her home.

The entire incident was recorded with a handheld device and placed on Facebook where it went viral. The police were said to be seeking Shemeal’s brother, who is in a relationship with Arisha, when they entered the house.

Police are investigating Shemeal’s murder and it was reported that last Saturday, April 15 around 12 p.m.,

gunmen once again opened fire on a group of men in the Ottley Hall area.

The men who were shot at are said to have returned fire, resulting in over 10 rounds being discharged, two of which entered the roof of a dwelling house in the area and sent numerous residents scampering.(LC)