3 weeks ago
7
Senior Investigative Reporter
In the last ten years, 73 children, 12 of whom were girls, have tragically lost their lives as a result of gun violence.
These children, aged 11 months to 18 years, were killed by individuals using firearms as they went about their daily lives, ran errands for their parents, limed with friends, sat outside their homes, played outdoors, travelled in their family’s car and slept in the comfort of their beds.
According to figures compiled by Guardian Media Investigations Desk, a detailed breakdown revealed that:
Three were 18 years old
17 were aged 17 years old
18 were aged 16 years old
11 were aged 15 years old
Nine were aged 14 years old
One was 13 years old
14 were aged 12 years or younger
There were instances where children were hit by stray bullets or caught in the crossfire because their family members were the intended targets.
Others had their lives cut short because they were led down the wrong path or fatally shot by police.
A few of the children were also fatally injured while playing with unsecured firearms.
The influx of illegal guns falling into the hands of criminals has escalated the situation, making communities in Trinidad and Tobago less safe.
In addition to the children who have already lost their lives, dozens more have been critically injured by gun violence, and some have been caught as collateral damage.
According to reports compiled by Guardian Media Investigations Desk, from February 17 to May 7 of this year, four children were gunned down, three of whom were an 11-month-old, a 23-month-old and an eight-year-old.
In February, Malabar Secondary School student Ezekiel Moore, 16, was killed after a bullet that was meant for his father ricocheted and struck him during a gun attack outside their La Horquetta home.
On March 31, 11-month-old Jayden Sutton and his father, Joseph Sutton, 25, were gunned down at their Dundonald Hill, St James, home.
The shooter stuck a gun through a bedroom window, killing the father and baby while they were asleep on a bed.
Described as bright, talented and full of life, J’Layna Armstrong, eight, a pupil of Newtown Girls’ RC School, was one of four people shot and killed in the car they were in on Lady Young Road in Morvant on April 19.
The three other victims were Obetaiye Latiff, 23, Chelsea Edwards and Asim Armstrong.
Three weeks later, on May 7, 23-month-old Akini Kafi and his father, Aquil “Fats” Kafi, were killed in a hail of gunfire.
The toddler was one of three people fatally shot after gunmen intercepted their car in Belmont.
The third victim was Anthony “Monster” Wilson, 28.
Last July, Kafi’s 14-year-old son, Zion Roberts, was shot multiple times in Belmont.
The data showed that of the 73 children, 61 were boys and a dozen were girls.
Areas where children died
The majority of fatal shootings occurred from Carenage in the west to the northeastern region of Sangre Grande.
Children were victims of gun violence in Diego Martin, Port-of-Spain, Belmont, Morvant, Tunapuna, D’Abadie, Maloney, La Horquetta, Arouca, Malabar, Valencia and Wallerfield.
In Laventille alone, a dozen of the 73 children were killed by gun violence.
Arima recorded nine deaths. Only two were reported in Tobago.
Stretching from Chaguanas to Rio Claro, eight children died of gunshot wounds.
A breakdown showed that 14 children (five girls and nine boys) were killed in 2023, the highest figure in the last decade.
The girls identified were six-year-old Kylie Meloney, Precious Wills, 17, ten-year-old Faith Peterkin, Arianne Peterkin, 14, and Andrea Lallan, 13.
There were nine gun-related murders each in 2021 and 2022.
The years 2016, 2018 and 2019 each recorded five deadly shootings.
In 2025, ten boys between the ages of 14 and 18 were shot dead.
The only fatal shooting victim in 2017 was a 17-year-old boy, marking the lowest number recorded in the past decade.
Among the eight children who lost their lives in 2024, four were girls.
The victims were five-year-old Anika Guerra, Isabella Teelucksingh, 15, Aaliyah Santo, 16, and Salome Ranghill, 15.
One of the most heartbreaking fatal shootings was that of Ste Madeleine Secondary School student Videsh Dookran, 15, who in 2022 was shot in the chest, chopped, and had his body stuffed in a latrine a short distance from his Golconda home.
In another devastating incident in 2022, nine-year-old Jomol Modeste was fatally shot when gunmen opened fire on spectators while they were watching a friendly football match at a recreational ground in Enterprise.
One bullet pierced the back of Modeste’s head, killing him on the spot and triggering a wave of outrage on social media.
Modeste was a Standard Three pupil of Carapichaima RC School.
Among all the victims of gun violence that year, the youngest was 18-month-old Nova Brereton, whose mother, Sachel Elliot, 32, was also a casualty.
Both mother and toddler were gunned down just days before Christmas in 2022 inside a mini mart in Moruga.
The gunman’s intended target was a contractor.
In 2024, gunmen fired upon businessman Enrico Guerra, killing him and his five-year-old daughter, Anika Guerra, outside their mini mart in Moruga.
Anika, a preschooler, was shot multiple times in the face, lower back and arm during the brazen gun attack.
Mothers waiting
for justice
In a painful waiting game for justice, Melissa Huggins and Leona Alleyne find themselves among many parents who are longing for answers for their slain children.
As the days turn into weeks and months, the unanswered questions only deepen the families’ resolve.
For Huggins and 24-year-old Alleyne, each passing moment is a reminder of the love they have lost and the closure they continue to seek.
Huggins’ 12-year-old son Ezekiel Paria, who was full of life and simply enjoying a bike ride near his Laventille home, was tragically struck by a stray bullet in February 2024.
More than two years later, Huggins said no one had been arrested for the murder.
“It’s been months…more than two years, I ain’t hear nothing from the police,” Huggins complained.
“They don’t even call to give an update. Well, the police need to get their act together.”
Huggins believes the investigation has gone cold.
“It seems you can’t get justice in this country. I have put everything in God’s hands. If you can’t get justice from the law, you would have to leave it up to the Lord.”
She said the 27 months that had passed had been too painful.
Whenever a child is fatally shot, Huggins said, it reopens the wounds of her own loss, and her heart aches for the parents now navigating the same unimaginable pain and grief.
It has been more than five weeks since Alleyne’s 11-month-old son Jayden Sutton and her 25-year-old common-law husband, Joseph Sutton, were shot and killed while they were asleep in a bedroom of their Dundonald Hill, St James, home.
The shooter pushed a gun through a bedroom window of the house and fired upon the father and son.
“I just feel sad and angry,” said Alleyne last Friday during a telephone interview.
She believes the longer the police take to make an arrest, the less impact it will have in solving the case.
The police, Alleyne said, had pleaded with residents in the community to come forward with information regarding the double murder.
“I think a child died in the community. I think somebody should speak up if they don’t like that. I am just keeping hope.”
Young lives cut short
2016
January
Denielson Smith, 17, Laventille
Mark Richards, 15, Laventille
Jodel Ramnath, six, Beetham Gardens
August
Cyon Morris, nine, La Romaine
September
Mohammed Ali, 15, Chaguanas
2017
July
Jevon Bradley Paul, 17, Arima
2018
January
Joshua Andrews, 14, Laventille
April
Kareem Forde, 16, Laventille
May
Noah Simmons, 16, Marabella
June
Joshua James, 16, Laventille
July
Mikeel Caesar, 16, Laventille
2019
February
De Shawn Hitlal, 17, Sangre Grande
April
Akeil Phillip, 16, Laventille
May
Naomi Nelson, 14, Carenage
July
Christian Smith, 16, Guayaguayare
December
Keyon Gill, 12, Lady Chancellor Hill, Port-of-Spain
2020
January
Jordan Archibald, 16, Wallerfield
Daniel Dember, 17, Enterprise
April
Ikel Williams, 17, Valencia
2021
February
Tamika Griffith, 16, Claxton Bay
March
Semion Daniel, 15, Laventille
Antonio Francois, 16, Laventille
Akid Jaheim Anthony Parris Duke, 15, Arouca
Christopher Cummings, 17, Tunapuna
July
Javaughn Alvarez, 17, Malabar
October
Mkweli Pascal, 17, Marabella
November
Javon Charles, 17, Laventille
Josiah Francis, 17, Laventille
2022
January
Christian Liverpool, 11, Arima
February
Kevin Kyle Spring, 14, Diego Martin
Jael Hyles, 14, Port-of-Spain
July
Caleb Martineau, 16, Maraval
October
Jomol Modeste, nine, Enterprise
Videsh Dookran, 15, Golconda
Nizam Owen, three, Diego Martin
November
Marlon Stewart, 14, Morvant
December
Nova Bereton, 17 months, Moruga
2023
January
Andre Singh, 16, D’Abadie
Keron Madoo, 16, D’Abadie
Kylie Meloney, six, Sangre Grande
Darshan Ramnauth, 16, St Augustine
February
Kendall Francis, 18, Rio Claro
March
Kiel Paul, 14, Valencia
June
Nicholas Jordan, 15, Arima
August
Precious Wills, 17, Tobago
September
Faith Peterkin, ten, Arima
Arianne Peterkin, 14, Arima
Shane Peterkin, 17, Arima
Andrea Lallan, 13, Rio Claro
November
Anim Persad, 15, Arouca
Olun Jones, 18, Arouca
2024
January
Isabella Teelucksingh, 15, Las Lomas
February
Ezekiel Paria, 12, Laventille
June
Wayne “Foots” Carimbocas, 17, Arima
July
Jerome “GI” Joseph, 17, Port-of-Spain
August
Anika Guerra, five, Moruga
Salome Ranghill, 15, Freeport
Aaliyah Santo, 16, Wallerfield
December
Jeremiah Outram, 16, La Horquetta
2025
January
Arnold Isaac, 16, Matelot
Beris Joseph, 15, Tobago
Christopher Beharry, 16, Chickland
March
Christian Patterson, 18, Claxton Bay
April
Ezekiel Ramdialsingh, 17, La Horquetta
May
Zwade Alleyne, 17, Maloney
July
Zion Roberts, 14, Belmont
August
Kimani Dyer, 17, Arima
October
Jovel Paul, 15, San Juan
December
Fabius Malchan, 14, Arima
2026
February
Ezekiel Moore, 16, La Horquetta
March
Eleven-month-old Jayden Sutton, St James
April
J’Layna Armstrong, eight, Morvant
May
Twenty-three-month-old Akini Kafi, Belmont
English (US) ·