Even as he grieves the loss of two sons who were among six men killed in an alleged shootout with police on Wednesday, Sunil John wants the nation to know he did his best as a father.
Pulling hard on the cigarette in his hand as he blinked back tears yesterday, the father of eight said, “As a parent, you doesn’t always know what your children about when they step out there.”
John lost sons Kadeem, 23, and Saleem, 19, in the police-involved incident at Razack Trace, Calcutta No 2, Freeport, that left four others, including a 16-year-old female, dead.
The other suspects were identified as Jovan Simon, 31, of Diamond Village, Claxton Bay and Nelson Street, Perseverance, Couva; Isaiah Olivierre, 21, of Marie Avenue, Maturita, Arima; Nicholas Caesar, age and address unknown; and a 16-year-old female of George Street, La Romain, whose name was unknown up to yesterday.
Kadeem, who was also called Kevon John and Kevon St Bernard, had a criminal record and was recently released from prison on bail for robbery.
He was a father of two, a boy, aged two and a girl, aged one.
Saleem was working as a fisherman.
Despite the criminal charges hanging over Kadeem’s head, John claimed both boys were working alongside him in construction and whatever odd jobs he picked up.
Sunil said Kadeem and Saleem lived at his house but would often stay at their grandmother’s home at St Margaret’s Village, Claxton Bay. He said he initially learnt of the shooting on the news.
Regarding Saleem, Sunil said, “He never get himself in no kinda incident with the law.”
Of Kadeem, Sunil acknowledged he was known to the police and had a criminal record, but added, “He never kill nobody.”
Despite of this, he described his sons as nice and loving children, noting that despite what was said about them in the public domain, they always conducted themselves in a certain way in his house.
He said, “Sometimes a parent doesn’t know what they chile in and not in. All parents, we does be in the dark until what so ever come about because when yuh chile home, they loving, they nice, they is a certain way and when they step outside, yuh know.”
He added, “They just wouldn’t stand up and watch nobody advantage nobody, they woulda stand up for the right thing and sometimes, the right thing doesn’t go together with the law. They might do a lil something, but they not killers.”
Saying he had no choice but to accept their deaths, Sunil said, “We cyar change it, we just hadda live with it and keep going forward.”
He urged other parents to keep a close eye on their children and monitor their friends and interactions. Asked what he wanted to say to police in the pursuit of criminals, he said, “Is a tricky thing. I would say if you doh need to kill people chirren, doh kill them.”
But he maintained, “They didn’t have to kill the boy and them.”
Pressed to say if he was angry at the officers responsible, he said, “I not angry, but I just wished things had turned out differently. I love my youth and them. I doh know what they does do outside. When they come home, they smiley, they nice. I not sharing blame for nobody but parents all yuh keep a lil closer eye on all yuh chirren if all yuh could, and try and shine some light in the dark areas where we don’t know they does be.”
Claiming he had done his best to ensure his children walked the straight and narrow, Sunil said they would go to church every Sunday, but he said friends could be to blame for leading a person astray.
“I hope God open a lil door for them and they could enter the gates of heaven.”
The children’s mother, who lives in San Fernando, was said to have been devastated by the killings.
A female relative who requested her name not be used, said, “I have no words to describe the loss.”
She recalled growing up with the boys, adding, “Even if Kadeem was in something ... I know it woulda be for his family, he loved his family and chirren all. Saleem was never in anything.”
Police search for couple
As the police investigation continued yesterday, officers were said to be searching for a couple who had reportedly rented the two-bedroom house where the six suspects were killed from the property owner two years ago.
Guardian Media understands the couple allegedly sublet the house to the six who were killed.
Persons close to the homeowner claimed it was not until the shooting occurred and reports began circulating that he became aware of the situation.
Calls and messages to the couple’s cell phones went unanswered yesterday.
When Guardian Media returned to the house in Freeport yesterday, residents living nearby declined to speak on camera.
One person said Wednesday’s events had been traumatic enough and they just wanted the area to return to the quiet it was known for.
Claxton Bay residents celebrate killings
Over in Claxton Bay where the John boys lived, residents celebrated, as they said they had slept easier since learning the siblings were killed.
One man said, “They always in the neighbourhood robbing people right through the place. I was very happy to hear they were killed.”
Several people operating businesses in the area were said to have been victims of robberies in which the boys were involved.
An elderly man looked out from the balcony of his house and recounted when he was attacked and beaten in his bedroom for a few hundred dollars.
He said, “Hopefully, things will be quiet now.”
Another said, “They were pests and it is good to get rid of pests. I have no heart for the wicked. If they were good, better things would be said about them, but they are distressors. They had many people in pain.”
A man standing close by chimed in, “While it is a sad thing as two lives were lost, the law has to do what it has to do.”
CoP troubled by
crime trend
Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher yesterday expressed concern over the killings, noting four of the persons who lost their lives were under 25 years.
In a release yesterday, she said, “This requires us as a society to confront this issue with honesty, urgency and a strong resolve. The important and crucial role of parents and guardians cannot be understated, as you play the primary role of guiding our youth toward positive and constructive paths. We need to actively engage with young people, support them and help them to navigate through these turbulent times and steer them away from the appeal of criminal behaviour.”
She confirmed officers recovered three firearms at the house.
The six were reportedly tracked by officers following information related to the robbery of Edward Taylor, 68, of Balmain, Couva.
The pensioner was robbed of cash, jewellery and his bank card during a home invasion by three armed men at 6.30 am on Wednesday. The men also robbed a doubles vendor before the pensioner.
The CoP added, “These are serious crimes and their effects are far-reaching, as one incident can rob an entire community of the peace and safety previously enjoyed.”
Harewood-Christopher said as with all police- involved shootings, the latest incident will be thoroughly investigated.