NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The mother of the four-year-old boy who was shot and killed Tuesday night told Prime Minister Philip Davis that her son died in her arms after stray bullets pierced her car and seemingly killed him instantly.
Davis was joined by State Minister of Public Services Pia Glover-Rolle and Minister of Transport and Housing Jobeth Coleby-Davis as he met the family of the victim yesterday evening.
The boy’s parents did not speak to the media about what happened but told the prime minister they were driving on Fleming Street when they suddenly heard gunshots.
One shot, they said, appeared to hit the hood of their car, prompting them to duck.
When the mother checked her son, Kenton Seymour Jr, she found her chest full of blood.
She said the child had a hole from one side of his jaw to the next.
She showed the prime minister a video of her son dancing with excitement at a recent Junkanoo event.
Davis, in turn, expressed solidarity with the parents.
He declined to speak to Eyewitness News while leaving the home.
Earlier, after a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, he made a plea for the violence in the country to end.
“My heart goes out to the family of those victims yesterday, particularly the four-year-old,” he said.
“The heinousness of the acts that’s being committed on our streets has to stop. I intend to get a full briefing in short order on these matters and again police have been very much engaged on the weekends with attempts of disrupting behaviour such as these.
“They’ve had some blowback from the public because of what they claim to be an incursion of privacy etc but the police and I would be speaking and I will get a fuller breakdown of the details of these matters to speak more specifically to it but for the time being my heart cries out to the family.
“I plead to our people, we are killing one another. There’s no need for us to turn on one another. Whatever the issues we need to be able to work them out.
“We appreciate the state of our country, we’re dong our best to alleviate all the suffering and pain, just hope that there is relief out there. Just be patient and let us deal with the issues that concern us most. Call and speak to someone if there is a challenge. Those who know something, say something so we can be able to avert what’s happening today.”
Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander told the press police are following significant leads in the matter and have the man in custody who was being chased by the two young men who are believed to be responsible for the shooting.
