Maternal instinct drove 65-year-old Barbara Walters to brave sporadic gunfire Friday night to check on loved ones who were believed to be in harm’s way.

A daughter was outside playing bingo. A grandchild was reportedly milling about.

Little did she know that gunmen were still on the prowl after an initial bout of gunfire.

As she sought to ensure their safety, the elderly mother of seven was fatally shot by gunmen firing indiscriminately. The attackers invaded her Admiral Town community, more popularly known as Board Villa, about 10 p.m.

Walters’ eldest daughter, Nichola Anderson, told The Gleaner that her sister, Georgia, was unaware that their mother was on Georgia’s trail to confirm that the relatives outside were fine.

“We were outside playing bingo and somebody come and say, ‘Run, ‘cause man dem a come across the ball field with guns. We run and go lock up inna a shop until the shot dem cool down,” Anderson said of the first round of explosions.

Gunfire was heard again and Anderson took cover again.

When the shooting subsided, her world turned upside down.

“Somebody run come tell mi say mi mother dead. Mi say no, mi mother nuh dead; she inna the house. When mi come round and go inna the lane, mi see mi madda pon her face,” a tearful Anderson said.

They believe that a gunshot that grazed a man on his ear was the fatal round that struck Walters.

“If mi did run straight, a me woulda get the ... bullet inna mi heart. Mi madda wouldn’t ... get it. Prefer my life did take instead of mi mother own … Mi never know she deh behind me … ,” Georgia said.

“The boy point the gun and mi duck and him shoot mi mother,” she added while being consoled by neighbours.

The residents say their section of the community has been experiencing relative peace for sometime so the invasion came as a surprise.

Anderson, who has lived in the community for more than 30 years, said she was unaware of any fractiousness that might have sparked the violence.

Walters, according to Anderson, would rarely spend much time outside the premises because she was focused on her supplementary snack business.

“A we support her. My mother was a loving person and jovial. Everybody love her because she just sit in her house and that’s it. Only time she go a road is when she sit at the bar and by a hour, she gone inside,” Anderson said.

The Kingston West Criminal investigation Branch is investigating the homicide.

Up to January 29, the division recorded 11 murders.

That figure represents a 37.5 per cent increase year-on-year.