News
Gregory Mc Burnie
Residents of Building 16, Maloney Gardens, remained shaken hours after gunmen stormed an apartment and shot a man and his nine-year-old son.
According to reports, around 4 am on October 15, the father heard banging on his front door.
Believing it was police, he was about to open the door when two masked gunman broke it open and entered the apartment.
When he saw them, the man ran into his son’s room.
The gunmen followed him and shot at him, hitting both the man and his son.
The boy was shot in his heel while the father was shot in his toe, and police found eight spent 9mm shells at the scene.
Both victims were taken to hospital where they remain warded in stable condition.
When Newsday arrived at the scene at around 9 am, parents were belatedly taking their children to school.
Many of the parents, however, were reluctant to speak with the journalists who had gathered.
A woman whispered to Newsday as she returned to her apartment, “It’s this block, on the third floor. That’s where the shooting happened.”
The building, comprising four blocks with a square-shaped courtyard in the middle, appeared mostly deserted.
Apart from three residents looking on as crime scene investigators collected evidence, the playground in the courtyard was empty as broken swings stood still.
A piece of the broken door from the apartment with the deadbolt still attached lay next to the swings.
Also on October 15, Tabaquite Secondary School students 15-year-old Jerryl Ganness of Los Attajos, and 16-year-old Darias Shadrack were shot and wounded during a gun attack in Brasso Caparo early that morning. Gunmen also killed Christopher Ricardo “Ricky” Joseph, 20, and wounded his brother His brother Colly Joseph, 23, in that attack.
In Maloney, a resident, who spoke to Newsday on the condition of anonymity, stopped in the stairwell where she couldn’t be seen.
Surrounded by spray-painted gang symbols on the walls, she described the entire situation as sad, saying she heard the gunshots but never imagined a child would be one of the victims.
The mother of three said the crime in the community is forcing her to rethink living there.
“My children don’t be outside. They are inside for that same reason. You never know what could happen.”
She said she drops her children to school and they meet her at work when school is done as she does not want them to be home alone.
She added gun violence has become a norm in the community and she does not want her children to get into trouble or put themselves in danger.
“This accustomed happening, the shooting et cetera. It’s the norm and you get accustomed to it but it’s sad that it was a child who got shot this time.”
The mother said she wants to leave the community but she has no other options right now.
“I have been going to Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to see if I can get someplace else but you know how that goes. I definitely don’t want to raise my kids in here.”
Neighbour prays for safety after gunshots
Another mother, speaking from behind the unfinished burglar proofing in her apartment, said she, too, is worried about her children’s safety.
“I have six kids and they are my priority. So of course I am worried about our safety.
“We not safe again and that’s why I want to finish this burglar proofing.” The woman said the boy, who also attends the same school as her children, should never have been shot.
“I can’t even say how I feeling right now. That boy is innocent!”
Reliving the moment she heard the gunshots, the anxious mother said she told her children to lie on the floor while she said a prayer.
She said she hopes to leave the community someday but will focus on ensuring their safety in the short-term.
“Sometimes I feel I want to move out for my kids. I want a place in a quiet neighbourhood where I can have my family and my pets. That’s what I looking for.
‘Leave the children alone’
She added, “But in the meanwhile it’s just about securing our safety until better can be done.”
A teenage boy, who also spoke in a stairwell where he couldn’t be seen speaking with the media, said there used to be an “order” in the community but that seems to have disappeared.
“You not supposed to be shooting children,” he lamented.
“Them children ent picking up no gun and shooting nobody. They just play and go to school, so I find they should be left out of all of this (gun violence).”
He said the community remains relatively safe for him and his friends, and suggested outsiders are bringing violence to the area.
Citing the recent shooting of a man in the community he said, “It’s people from ‘out ah road’ coming and giving trouble.”
The teen explained he and his friends roam the area some nights and are never harassed or threatened.
He suggested only outsiders involved in crime and up to mischief in the community should really be fearful as he cautioned, “Things will happen to you!”
A woman who identified herself as “Mama” said she has been in the community since she was a teenager.
“I raise four sons and four grandsons here. And all of them still live here.”
She said the community has changed as the younger generation has a “different way of living.”
“Residents here have to know what kind of life they want and you have to know that your job as parents is to protect them. But if you choose a certain life, then…” as her voice trailed off.
Although she is respected in the community and raised her children in a particular way, Mama noted she also has to respect that not everyone has the same values.
“I’m always talking to my children and grandchildren. I don’t play.”
“But with other people, sometimes you can speak up, and other times you have to know when to just stay quiet.”
