Tuesday February 9th, 2010
- Last update:14 hours 6 min ago
Another schoolboy stabbed to death
Published: 24 Nov 2009
Insp Curtis Paul tells Education Minister Esther Le Gendre about the death of his nephew, yesterday. Photo: AKILE SIMON
A police inspector who stopped to investigate the fatal stabbing of a student in St Joseph yesterday afternoon, would later learn that the victim was his nephew. Insp Curtis Paul, who heads the North Eastern Division Community Police Unit, was almost brought to tears when he arrived at the trauma room of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope, and saw the face of his nephew, Dillon Griffith, 18, peaking out of a body bag. Under the stretcher, where Griffith lay, was a pool of blood, from the injuries he sustained after he was stabbed on the left side of his chest, with a sharp object, while in the company of one of his friends. Griffith was allegedly attacked after he was accused of watching one of the suspects “too hard.”
The incident occurred outside a parlour near the St Joseph Recreation Grounds, opposite the old St Joseph Police Station. Police said after the victim was stabbed, he was chased by two suspects across the PBR, near the St Joseph TML Primary school, where a scuffle began. Recounting what had transpired, Paul, who appeared to be transfigured by the turn of events, said, he could not believe it was his relative. “I don’t know…I really don’t know. “I don’t think it is my nephew. No, it can’t be him…I better call his father now. “No, Let’s wait until we reach to the hospital and we would know for sure if its him,” Paul said, moments after he received a phone call from head of the North Eastern Division, Snr Supt Theophillus Cummings, who gave him the identity of the victim.
Shortly after, Cummings and his officers held two suspects. At the hospital, Paul hugged his brother, Gordon, (Griffith’s father) and told him, “now is the time for us as a family to remain strong.” Griffith, who lived at Santa Rosa Heights, Arima, was a fifth form student of the St Augustine Secondary School. He died around 2.55pm, while undergoing emergency surgery. One of his main arteries on the left side of his chest was punctured. Police have since seized a foot-long weapon, they described as a “dagger,” which was thrown over the wall of the St Joseph TML school, by one of the suspects. Education Minister Ester Le Gendre, who drove by the crime scene, an hour after the killing, was told about the tragic incident by Insp Paul.
Catch them and give them a
Catch them and give them a firing squad in Woodford Square. Charge $5 and they will have a sell out crowd. Give the money to the family of the victim. Time for serious action on serious crime.
Book me for 2 tickets
Book me for 2 tickets please. What is ironic is that Inspector Paul is one of the finest police officers who I have the pleasure of knowing and dealing with. His involvement with the youths and communities within the North Eastern Division of the Police Service is highly commendable. Only recently he and Sgt Shepherd were instrumental in setting up a Town Meeting at the San Juan Promenade, which was attended by hundreds. This just goes to show that no one is safe from the criminal elements out there. No one.
Killed for watching one of
Killed for watching one of the suspects “too hard.” What will we do for an encore?
Serious reflection must be
Serious reflection must be given to youth behaviour.
The universities UWI and UTT and COSTATT and expert professionals must sit down and seriously ask and answer why this dysfunctional behaviour for our youths. Is it indoctrination by TV, cable, bet, mtv, violent lyrics in music.
One truth is Behaviour breeds behaviour , societies change as result of the "monkey see monkey do" principle and i dont mean to belittle anyone but humans are copy cats. Now if the dysfunctional behaviour is copied from the various media, what can be done to change??
I totally agree with you,
I totally agree with you, but on the flip side the parents are in control of the household, I hope, parents should turn off the television and spend quality time with their children. Trinidad has so much culture, parents should explore this with their children, get children involved in community and helping others...all I am trying to say is that parents should make time to spend with their children away from the TV, getting children involved in positive activities at an early age will instill a sense of value and self worth in them so that when they are faced with the negative they will know how to make a positive decision.
Trini living in the rotten apple
JUST TELL THE FAMILY OF THE
JUST TELL THE FAMILY OF THE VICTIMS -
The following.
1) It is collateral damage.
2) Panday tainted.
3) COP is New Politics
Take two aspirin and go to bed all will be well look at 20/20 vision. Murders UNC - 100, PNM - 500.
WHY EVERYTHING HAS TO BE
WHY EVERYTHING HAS TO BE POLITICAL
Today we should be mourning the death of a young promising man, the destruction of another family, and the demise of society in general, and all you could come up with is PNM, UNC, Vision 20/20. Do you really care at all about this country? Or do you just have to bring your racial, political agenda into every thing you write in these comments. Let us lament our state in life, because this is our country. Not because your political party is not in power right now, we have to listen to your racial rantings day in and day out. Get real. Your party is out of power, but they can get back in and we will all have to live with it, regardless. That is how the democratic process works. So in the meantime, shut to hell up if you cannont contribute a meaningful dialogue to this pressing subject that is facing our nation.
IT IS BECAUSE OF POLITICS
IT IS BECAUSE OF POLITICS -
It is because of politics we are where we are, and the solution would be a political solution. If it was the other way around you would be singing PNM's praises, as you were crying down UNC.
I remember PNM activist saying on the radio it was UNC's fault and that KALI needed blood when the murders were 100. They rejoiced that Panady threw his hands up in the air and they literally celebrated. PNM claimed that UNC could not fight crime and they were the answer. We voted out UNC and put PNM because we expected it would get better not worst. Before elections the murders went down didn’t PNM take credit for it. We were later informed by a PNM activist on the radio money was distributed to the gangs to keep the crime down. You can’t have it both ways. When it is bad under UNC criticize, but when it is worse under PNM cry that it is politics because you want to protect PNM. Who is protecting the 400 odd extra victims?
UsTrini39 Again, Trinidad
UsTrini39
Again, Trinidad and Tobago, we must cry for the slaying of our youth.Examples start at the top! No justice for the criminals, so monkey see, monkey do!Maybe now these police, who are a big slice of the problem, will run or face the problem. Stop dealing with the gang leaders, Mr. PM AND Mr. Joseph, you have been put in there to cover up for him! Don't you all see that the government has thwarted every real potential solution to the crime problem. How big is Trinidad? PURGE the POLICE! Purge the PM! PURGE MINISTER joseph! FIX THE PROBLEM, MR. PM, and that problem is you and your very bad appointment of Mrs. PM to your cabinet. Remember, Trinidad, she was the Minister of Education, and that was too hard so he moved her to local government. Why? People of Trinidad and Tobago, let us appeal to the United nations for help. In countries where the police are inadequate, the UN will send in help. Trinidad needs HELP!
They are adult enough to
They are adult enough to take another person life, then they are a
adult to face the consequences......
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE ADULT
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE ADULT -
Taking someone’s like does not qualify you as an adult. A young child killed another in the states and when asked why he did it he said they would come back like in the movies. He did not understand the permanence of death. His sense of reality was what he saw on TV. Children have been known to kill themselves imitating stunts on TV; hence the explicit warnings do not try this at home. Most steelbands are named after Movies. It is sometimes life imitating art.
Fairplay, the Express
Fairplay, the Express reports that the suspects in the murder of 18 year old student Dillon Griffith (adult) were 17 years old (minor) and 18 years old (adult). If these ages are in fact correct and the two suspects are charged, then one will be tried as a minor and the other as an adult. But I know I'm just repeating something you already know, so I'm not questioning your knowledge or even your high intelligence.
My mind takes me back to the US sniper Lee Boyd Malvo who was sentenced to jail without parole for the killings. On the other hand, his accomplice,John Allen Muhammad was only quite recently executed by the state of Virginia.
For me, the more fundamental question is: what the hell is going on in the homes and families? Who's training our nation's children?
I think there is consensus that something is drastically wrong in our society, not just with the youth, but first and foremost with the adults. Very often we adults settle scores in the most acrimonious of ways and then want to preach peace and love to the children. Don't we realize that our children are learning from us?
Nevertheless, I agree with your point that the killers are not adult just because the allegedly killed.
But I remain convinced that there are many people out there killing and robbing and raping and brutalizing and who, when caught,should be pay for the crime they committed. Let's think of the victims' families and loved ones for a minute.
ajfyzabadbutlertown
I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH YOUR
I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH YOUR VIEWS -
There must be equal justice for all. In serious countries Drug Trafficking is punishable by death. In T&T we do not even catch the Drug Lords. Two Government Ministers and two opposition MP's were implicated in the Scott Drug Report what came out of it. Most of these killings have their genesis in the Drug Trade. But my point is that children do commit murders, the statement made suggested that once someone committed a murder it meant that they were adult. In the US gangs recruited boys below the statutory age of an adult and armed and trained them to be shooters so as to beat the system. We have young men being recruited to become jihadist. Because some realise that a young mind is impressionable they sometimes prey on young people. The tobacco industry ad campaign targeted the youth population. Most persons molested by the clergy were young boys. The drug culture targets the youth. A high number of Cultural Music Icons are Drug addicts. We as a society criminalize the youth and then we complain that they are criminals. I have no problem with the criminals being brought to justice but we must not cherry pick our justice. President Obama and the American People face the same dilemma. America claims to be a country of laws and jurisprudence. They accuse the terrorists as murderers and hold themselves to be of a higher moral standard. But lo and behold they use illegal methods such as water boarding against said terrorist and are being called on it by other countries. We must think of all as we can all be seen as victims in one way or the other. Our responsibility is to all our citizens not to a portion of our citizens. I have had two family members killed in the mayhem; I have been on both sides of the fence. It is not only what we do but how we do it. We in T&T all benefit from the Drug Trade; it is estimated to be 60 billion. Some indicate that if it were not for the Drug Trade the economy would fall. Do you know that the cheaper prices that you might be getting at some establishments are because it is Drug Money being laundered? Some dividends you might be getting in a business investment might be coming from the Drug Trade. It is the same Drug Trade that is fuelling the murderous mayhem that is taking place in the country. It might be even funding the political parties. It might be building the Churches, Mosques and Mandirs. Dole Chadee had one of the best Mandirs in T&T. We accept the possible benefits but complain about the adverse consequences.
And people wondering why
And people wondering why they not getting visa to go anywhere...? Haha. A country could only be as developed as its leaders.
Another youth stabbed to
Another youth stabbed to death!!!How can teachers feel comfortable in the classroom knowing that students have these weapons of destruction in their possession? How do parents feel about not checking their childrens bags?
That is a good enough reason for closing the schools, not the ones given before. Parents must be accountable for their children's behaviour since they provide food, clothes and shelter for them. We need to see remedial actions taking place in the ministry. The government must take action now. It is going to be too late when they recognize what is happening. This type of behavior is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. Teach our children to walk away from conflict, not react violently. Teach them the value of life.
What are the parents of that
What are the parents of that killer saying now. Is this what we are teaching our children at home now? is this morals and good values.
We still want to stop beating our children in schools. A firing squard is not enough. that was a great idea to stop beating children but that meant parents are suppose to fulfill there roles not leave it for teachers the same teachers the children want to beat.
D. Winche
Is that Education Minister
Is that Education Minister Esther Le Gendre sitting in the SUV? if so, well, she looks really clueless!!!!!! and from the looks of things that how the ministry of education is ran by a bunch of clueless people. Instead of putting up million dollar stadiums, flags and whatever else, try putting metal detectors in schools, trained school police officers, implement after school mediation/conflict resolution programs, provide home visits to these kids homes to get a sense of their home life, (I am sure they are exhibiting some type of negative behaviors before they go to the extreme), parenting support for parents and hold these parents accountable for their children’s actions. Parents, communities, and government should take control of these youths and provide positive reinforces in these children lives because by the looks of things these youths are clearly lacking something.
Life imitating art? So what
Life imitating art? So what about imitating the good art. We greedily assimilate the obscenities, the suggestive modes of dress, the lewd behavior and all else that is bad. No wonder we are on the path to self destruction. Are we imitating an education system that is in shambles, a divorce rate of 50%, high teenage pregnancies...Hmmm. How come we do not imitate the Swiss, or the Danes, or any of the other societies where social order IS the order? They have the same challenges that we do: work, school, family, outside influences. So what do they have that we don't?
Time for TnT to wake up and smell the excrement that surrounds the entire nation.
HOW MANY MOVIES?
HOW MANY MOVIES? -
How many movies in the top 10 are about the Swiss or Danes? Sex and violence sells. The top ten tunes on Billboard are not about Jesus and morally uplifting topics. Pop culture is about drugs, women and violence. How many newspapers headlines are about the Swiss or Danes, they are about murder and mayhem, sensational news sells.
Avalynn, some windbags see
Avalynn, some windbags see race and politics in everything but themselves whereas some are doers e.g mrs luciesmith saw adults who could not read ...she could have blamed the education system/teachers/govt but instead start ALTA a NGO to teach adults and she has been successful. therefore passing blame is useless we must identify reason for dysfunctional behaviour and remedy that bit by bit
Agreed, but some of us end
Agreed, but some of us end up being "wind bags" because after you tried and tried on so many occasions to seek assistance from the Trinidad government to implement programs to assist children and parents you get nowhere, they don’t even read their emails. I know because I have tried on that so any occasions to no AVAIL!!!! I even tried obtaining funds here in the US to start a program for children in Trinidad, but stakeholders wont do it because they don’t have a stake in Trinidad, oh, I get funding for program but its here in the US cant use it to assist Trinidad. I feel that the government should do more for their youths; charity begins at home, doesn’t it?
Trini in the rotten apple
Some of you all posters
Some of you all posters amaze me.
One says that it is a PNM problem.
Another one calls himself or herself USTrini, and says this:
Why? People of Trinidad and Tobago, let us appeal to the United nations for help. In countries where the police are inadequate, the UN will send in help. Trinidad needs HELP!
Now if Trinidad needs help from the UN, how about asking the UN to send help to Chicago in his or her loving USA, where in 2008 there were 34 deaths and 290 shootings directly attributed to school violence. And Chicago is on pace to top those statistics this year.
Another one said that is why we do not get visa. Well good, why get a visa to go to Chicago where your child stood ah good chance of being murdered in a school.
In Trinidad we have never had criminal children taking guns to school and wiping out 13 or 14 children at a time, as has happened in developed countries.
Sometimes I wonder if the people that belittle our "banana republic" are not ashamed that they were born there.
But don't worry Mr and Mrs USTRINI. On Thursday, you will eat a hearty meal, and give thanks to the Indians who presented themselves to be slaughtered by the white man, so you could live in a developed country.
Excellent post.
Excellent post.
HOW COME
HOW COME -
When the exam results are published the Minister can come on television and boast of the Education System and we are the best in the Caribbean and give PNM credit. On the flip side school children murdering each other we cannot blame PNM. When things are going good PNM takes the credit, when things go badly we cannot blame them. How come when things were going badly we were able to blame the UNC? Why then did we vote them out, and then they should still be in government. We should not blame the government, the parents, or the children. Let's blame the alien’s from out of space. Let us also pay the aliens from out of space fat salaries and perks to run our country. If you can’t take the blame you can’t take the fame.
Well Twoleft you must be
Well Twoleft you must be eazy to amaze. Did you automatically assume I meant a visa to the US? Myopic thinking..... Trini's are blacklisted beacuse of our disgusting crime, Not too long ago there were discussions by the UK Home Office to require Trinidadian citizens to have a visa to Enter the UK. Remember dat? Ask any young Trini now if they could get a 2 year working holiday visa for the UK, once easily available. Now? Not a chance, that has now been abandoned. Then Twoleft you mentioned an isolated incident in a small City in a Big Country with much better probabilities.Myopic thinking once again. But something tells me your not well travelled or haven't experienced the true freedom and life opportunities that developed countries offer. I not ashamed I was born a Trini, I just shamed of the Trinidadians that have spoiled a great country almost beyond repair....full of people like you speaking GOBAR!
Myopic thinking once again.
Myopic thinking once again. But something tells me your not well travelled or haven't experienced the true freedom and life opportunities that developed countries offer.
Something tells me that even when Trinidad and Tobago had a very low crime rate, that you still immigrated to, or lived in a developed country with a high crime rate.
If so, why complain about crime in Trinidad. You were not ashamed about crimes in the developed country.
SOMETHING TELLS ME
SOMETHING TELLS ME -
That when the murder rate was a hundred under UNC you were complaining. Now that it is 500 under PNM you want us to stop complaining. Why did you complain when it was 100 under UNC?
Something tells me when there was corruption under UNC you complained. Now that there is ten time worst according to Rowley under PNM why did you stop complaining.
Myopic thinking again.
SOMETHING TELLS ME
SOMETHING TELLS ME -
Trinidad was a great place to live not so long ago but that does not matter anymore, the point is it is getting exponentially worse when it should be getting better. But people wasting money on FLAGS, Performing Arts Cente, and other rubbish. Something tells me If we don't start fixing our problems and helping our society develop we go end up like Jamaica or worse.........but don't worry, them fools in Lavantille will still vote PNM.....Myopic thinking again.
I AGREE EXCEPT FOR THE PART
I AGREE EXCEPT FOR THE PART ABOUT LAVENTILLE -
You are being unfair to single out Laventille. PNM’s success is a much the fault of the UNC and COP dividing their vote as anything else. It is political killing among Indians and physical killings among Africans. Self hate among both groups is evident both a legacy of slavery and indentureship. Willie Lynch syndrome is alive and well.
TwoLeft you Embarssing
TwoLeft you Embarssing yourself,
I live in New Zealand, one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
Assumptions are the Fother of all Muck ups.
CONSPIRACY! Is there a
CONSPIRACY! Is there a conspiracy by the newspapers to keep the public updated on the murders taking place? I noticewd that the newspapers have stopped notifying the public of the number of murders. Was there a silent agreement by the newspapers to stop reporting the number of murders? Who is censoring the newspapers? Are the newspapers wishing away the musrders by not reporting the numbers?