Another youth has lost his life by the gun after succumbing to his injuries yesterday.
Takori Wilkinson, 17, of Princess Royal Avenue, The Pine, St Michael, was shot multiple times on Tuesday after an attack by a group of people. He was relaxing with friends at the Wildey Pavilion along Meadow Road, St Michael.
His was the 30th homicide for the year. An eyewitness told the DAILY NATION he was traumatised by the incident.
“We was out by the pavilion sitting and just so we see men come ‘cross the pasture and start a fight with [Takori]. Another group who was with them come afterwards and one of them shoot [him],” he said.
He said Wilkinson was a good person who did not get into trouble and was always smiling and laughing. Wilkinson was struck in the head, side and leg and was taken to hospital in critical condition. His adoptive aunt, who gave her name as “Gail”, confirmed he had died in hospital, adding she had heard the grave news from his family at the hospital.
“I can’t believe this. I think some of these [youth] are watching too much violence on television and trying out what they see. Another thing too, the system is taking too long to help out these [youth]. There should be some place to send them who want to act like [criminals] before they kill somebody,” she lamented.
Gail also said Wilkinson, a former student of Parkinson Memorial Secondary School,
loved to smile and laugh, a sentiment also echoed by his adoptive grandmother Louise Brathwaite.
“He was supposed to go to Skills Training on Monday to learn masonry. He got he uniform, tools and everything,” she said.
Brathwaite said he was very quiet and not a troublemaker, and what happened to him has left her shaken. She said he lived with her, her daughter Gail and a brother.
“I trying to hold up but I don’t know. This foolishness got to stop. You can just shoot innocent people so? I ain’t pleased about this at all. If you were to ask anyone in The Pine about him, you would not hear anything different – Takori was always smiling,” she said.
On Starcom Network, residents of Meadow Road voiced their concerns about the situation, saying “Justice should be served for that young boy” and “parents need to parent their children”.
(CA)
