A bitter family dispute in Montego Bay, St. James on Monday night turned tragic with a brother and sister dead, one of their siblings battling for life and her common-law husband in hospital.

What started out as a quarrel between two sisters in the volatile community of Bottom Pen erupted into a shooting and machete chopping incident shortly after 7o'clock.

The police have not yet released the names of the dead persons, one of whom was a food vendor at the Charles Gordon Market.

It is reported that the deadly clash resulted from a long-standing dispute involving the children of the two sisters who both lived on the same property.

Investigators are trying to ascertain the circumstances in which the four sustained their injuries.

Commanding Officer for the St. James Police Superintendent Steve McGregor spoke with our news centre.

"A really bitter family feud resulted in one sister being shot and killed, her brother being shot and killed, another sister in hospital suffering from machete wounds and her common-law husband is also in hospital with wounds occasioned by this feud,"

"It is kind of symptomatic of what is happening in the country in general were people are not finding more calm ways of settling disputes," he said.

An illegal gun was recovered from the scene.

The two persons in hospital are under police guard.

It is reported that prior to Monday night's incident the police had gone to the premises on several occasions to part fights involving the sisters.