(Trinidad Guardian) Shundell Barrow’s mother was on the phone with his sister on Sunday night when the volley of gunshots that took his life rang out.
The family was soon bombarded by calls indicating that the teenager had been shot multiple times near the St Martin De Porres RC Church, Gonzales, Belmont.
Police said Barrow, 19, a Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) student, was reportedly shot close to 20 times around 12.30 am. His father rushed out the house after learning of the shooting at the corner of Leotaud and Vincent Brown Streets, Gonzales.
Barrow’s father scooped him up and rushed him to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 12.42 am.
Yesterday, Barrow’s mother, Ayana Barrow, said he had left home earlier in the evening, after telling his father he was going to visit school friends in Laventille.
The target of gunmen just two weeks before his murder on Sunday, Barrow had been sent to Penal after that, as his family sought to keep him safe from warring gangs in the area.
Barrow celebrated his birthday on September 12.
Fighting to hold on to her composure at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday, the mother broke down and wept.
“He never used to listen to me. I used to real talk to Shundell, but he never used to listen to me.”
Denying he was involved in guns or drugs, Ayana admitted his affiliation with members of warring gangs was what ultimately led to his death.
She said the fight for power and turf was very real, especially in the Gonzales and Belmont areas.
She declared, “I not on six, I not on seven, I not on eight, I not on nine, I not on ten.”
Instead, Ayana insisted, “I raising my child old school, to go anywhere, anytime and enjoy yourself. Why it have to have boundaries?” she asked.
Referring to the threats against Barrow two weeks ago, she said, “The police were supposed to call me but they never did. Again, the police always failing the system.”
Barrow had been studying AC installation and repairs at CCC, and according to his mother, one of his dreams was to make them proud while taking care of them, as he always acknowledged the sacrifices they had made to look after him and his siblings.
She admitted, “He was a loving child but he wasn’t easy to deal with at all. I loved my son to death. I wouldn’t trade him for no other person in this world.”
Guardian Media understands that gang members have threatened Barrow’s family via messages to their cell phones, directing them to take sides or face the consequences.
“They tell me flat two weeks ago they going to kill my son,” Ayana said.
She claimed she had reported the threats to officers at the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and Guard and Emergency Branch (GEB) but to no avail. She said she was also threatened.
The mother lamented the way in which her son’s life and future were violently cut.
“He ain’t even live half his life yet. He now starting. He was trying to turn over a new leaf. He told me before he had done something in his past that he did not like and while he wasn’t trying to be perfect, he was trying to be better. He knew what the crime situation was and he didn’t want to be part of that. He was fraid to die.”