Nearly 100 residents from the Wilson Track community gathered on Sunday evening to host a candlelight vigil for seven-year-old Cameron Cooper, who was gunned down in his front yard June 5.
Cooper’s mother, father and two siblings, were surrounded by community residents, and religious leaders yesterday who touted, “enough is enough!”
Children as young as five-years-old were in attendance Sunday evening; remembering the life of a young boy they once played with.
The vigil was held just meters away from where Cooper was gunned down last week Tuesday.
The young boy was caught in the crossfire of a suspected drug deal gone bad.
The vigil was replete with special musical performances, all of which sought to awaken a sense of spirituality within the community.
“We need the church, yes, we need God’s consecration and His blessing as well. But, we must also begin taking the responsibility to begin raising our children differently so that they do not resort to a life of crime,” said Psychologist, and counselor at the University of The Bahamas (UB) Percentie Roberts.
Roberts passionately addressed Wilson Tract residents, who cheered him on as he encouraged them to steer the youth within the community down a different path.
“Father, we need to – for the sake of your offspring, the safety of your family and the safety of this nation – stop this foolishness from within the home and stand up against this crime,” said Roberts.
“It begins in the home. We have to start disciplining these boys so that they grow up into responsible residents in this community”
“Cameron’s death must not be in vain. His death can change a whole nation and this incident has happened for a purpose. His life will always be a life of purpose in this country. But we have to get it together to ensure that more of our young men and women do not meet the unfortunate demise that he met – caught in the crossfire in his own front yard.”
The candlelight vigil ended with the attendees marching around the community with placards bearing the name of young Cameron Cooper.
The community then lit candles and sang comforting songs until sunset Sunday evening.
The man believed to be responsible for the shooting death of Cooper, Johnny St. Luc, is still in police custody.
