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Gun
violence in the Federation
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A teen's birthday
party ended in horror this past weekend when a drive-by
shooting claimed the life of a 17-year-old boy and
injured 3 other young persons.
On Sunday, residents
of Lodge Village were jolted by what one described
as a "hail of gunfire" sometime around midnight.
The individual told The Observer he heard about
9 gunshots before his phone rang and he was told that
a number of young people had just been shot down the
road from his abode.
According to information
gathered, there was a birthday party at the Lodge
Community Centre on Saturday night, attended mostly
by teenagers. The celebration came to an abrupt end
when a pickup drove by and opened fire on a bunch
of unsuspecting teens standing outside the venue.
Reports indicated
that bedlam ensued and when the smoke cleared, Jervin
Wilson lay face down in the street, motionless, his
back bearing multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced
dead on the scene. Shared Scarborough, 18, and Adrian
Wilson, 17, received non-fatal gunshot injuries during
the incident. Scarborough was shot in his back and
A. Wilson received a gunshot to the back of his neck.
All three were residents of the adjoining Ottley's
Village.
A young Ottley's Village girl, Anastasia Williams,
18, was also injured in the scurry as she tried to
avoid the gunfire. She was reportedly hit by the get-away
pick-up, fracturing her right leg and sustaining multiple
abrasions. The injured teens were transported to the
JN France Hospital where they were reported to have
been treated and warded in stable condition.
Police would not confirm
that the female was hit by the get-away vehicle or
if the vehicle was one reportedly stolen from TDC
Automotive Division at the Industrial Park earlier
the same evening. Police officials gave no indication
as to how many persons were reported to have been
in the suspect vehicle during the commission of the
crime.
"The vehicle
in question is suspected to be that stolen from TDC
however it appears the license plate was changed.
In such cases when a vehicle is recovered and when
the license number remains, there is a verification
process at the Traffic Department to determine the
chassis number," a reliable police source informed.
Police PRO Inspector
Vaughan Henderson would only tell The Observer,
"No vehicle suspected to have been used in the
incident has been recovered as yet."
Wilson's death is
the 7th homicide recorded in the first 2 months of
2010; all have been death by the gun. No-one has been
charged in relation to any of the killings.
PM Calls Teen Slaying
Senseless
Following the shooting
death of 17-year-old Jervin Wilson this past weekend,
Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas expressed condolences
to the victim's family and called the act "senseless".
"I know the private and community trauma that these
acts inflict and so separate and apart from the ongoing
policies and programs of my government where this scourge
is concerned, simply as a human being, I do extend my
concern and my sympathy to all who have been affected."
During his live radio program on Tuesday Dr. Douglas
assured that the the assailants would be dealt with
by the full force of the Law once apprehended. He spoke
to the bigger picture of youth violence and said the
antisocial behaviors being exhibited by young people
in recent times is akin to a form of psychosis.
"The incident in Lodge last weekend, like incidents
involving young people by young anywhere in the world,
resembles in all seriousness, a form of insanity. These
acts are abnormal in their extreme and so countries
all over the world must now develop their expertise
to identify the habits, the attitudes, the influences,
the practices and the experiences that are twisting
and warping these young minds and eradicate them,"
he said.
The PM acknowledge the far-reaching effects of these
violent crimes as adversely affecting the communities,
the society and the nation.
"A key challenge still awaits us as a society.
We have to find effective and lasting ways to dramatically
strengthen those psychological, physical, moral internal
personal restraints that keep law-abiding societies
law abiding. We have to better understand and correct
those twisted experiences and influences that have the
power to make people feel good about being bad and that
have the power to completely shut down an individual's
humanity, their capacity for mercy and remorse."
He called for national multi-lateral dialogue to identify
ways of raising upstanding, socially responsible children
as a means of reversing or eliminating the recent trend
of societal dysfunction among the youth.
"There needs to be a national preoccupation and
a national conversation involving all races, classes,
genders and ages into what goes into raising psychologically
stable, humane and self-respecting children. We must
openly address this pressing question because it may
cause us to become more sensitive to behaviors and influences
that may have crept into our society over time and which
now make it more difficult for some people to rear children
who are stable, humane and self-respecting."
Dr. Douglas compared the group of students who recently
won the Leeward Islands Debating Competition to those
young people, who on the same weekend, took the life
of an innocent teen and wounded 3 others. He said valuable
lessons were to be learned from both situations.
"In the debates and in the assailants' car we have
two sets of young people each headed in diametrically
opposite directions. What is the differences in schooling,
discipline and emotional support? Last weekend's tragedy
and last weekend's triumph however have very different
but equally compelling lessons for the rest of this
young and proud nation where the minds of our youth
are concerned. Let all of us observe, discuss; let us
dialogue, let us have this conversation; let us build."
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