The unthinkable happened in Barbados last night. Thirteen-year-old Shawnaton Clarke was simply watching a game of netball when his life was senselessly snatched from him at the hands of a reckless gun-toting assailant or assailants who chose to open terror in a public space.
We are devastated as a country, but our collective grief pales in comparison to the raw pain on the face of his father, Shawn Chase, as he spoke about his beloved teenager.
“Words can’t really express the way how I feel now. It really got me mash up. He’s very close to me, we are very close. Got me hurting really bad.
That is my only son,” he told this media house.
We can only imagine this family’s sorrow. They deserve not only our deepest condolences but also the unwavering support of the entire nation. We must rally around them, offering solace and strength as they navigate this tragedy.
But grief alone will not suffice. As a country, we must channel the outrage vented today on social media, on radio, and in our conversations into a resolute plan to address the scourge of violence that plagues our society. Every murder is one too many, but the killing of a teenager with so much life ahead demands swift justice.
We endorse Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s statement: “There’s enough madness in this world. We don’t need to have it here. A child should never have to run from gunfire, should never be caught in the crosshairs of vengeance, should never have their laughter silenced by bullets. And if we can’t agree on anything else . . . let us agree on this. Our children are not and must never be our targets. They’re not to be collateral damage. Our children and our elderly are the lines that we must never cross, and we have to come to a pact in this country about it.”
Words, however, are not enough. Policies, however vital, cannot stem the tide of violence that threatens to engulf our island. We, the people of Barbados, must understand a fundamental truth: the battle against crime is not a spectator sport. It is a war waged on our streets, in our homes, and each one of us must be on the frontline.
Guns, these instruments of death, do not act on their own. They are wielded by our friends, relatives, and neighbours—those who have strayed from the path of peaceful resolution. We must reach them, intervene, and remind them that violence is a dead end.
Equally, we support the view of Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne that we must not allow this to happen again.
He said: ”We come to this horrible moment of national mourning, feeling that we have failed in our duty to give to Shawnaton the longevity of life that all our young people deserve. Can we now commit to ensure that will be the last sacrifice of a precious young citizen? Do we have that will and that power?”
We say yes, we must.
We hold our government accountable for doing all it can to curb the crime wave and expect the Barbados Police Service to continue to serve and protect, but this situation requires fresh action from all of us.
The perpetrators of this heinous crime and those who enable them are among us. They walk our streets, they live in our communities, and they hide their weapons in plain sight. And, tragically, there are those who know their secrets, who possess vital information, yet choose to remain silent.
This silence is complicity. It is a betrayal of Shawnaton and a betrayal of every child who deserves to grow up in safety.
We implore those who know something—anything—to come forward. Your silence empowers the very forces that threaten to tear our society apart.
This is not just about bringing justice to Shawnaton’s killer or killers. It is about reclaiming our island from the grip of fear. It is about safeguarding the future of our children. It is about restoring the peace and security that should be the birthright of every Barbadian.
We must break the cycle of violence. We must dismantle the networks that fuel it. We must create a society where both our children and adults can walk our streets without fear.
Let Shawnaton’s death not be in vain. Let it be the catalyst for a national awakening, a moment when we as a nation say, “Enough is enough.”
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