Daughter unintentionally shot by father

~~Adz:Left~~ KINGSTON, Jamaica – A father’s act of assistance and good intention turned sour when he accidentally shot and killed his teenage daughter.

Dead is 18-year-old Pai Phillips, head girl of the Immaculate Conception High School, who resided at Riverside Drive, Haverndale.

The tragic incident took place at about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 1, the very day Pai celebrated her 18th birthday; and according to the Jamaica Observer, she was at the gate of her home with her relatives when they were approached by two louts.

“According to the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), shortly after arriving home on Riverside Drive in Havendale from church, Phillips and other family members were approached by the gunmen who pulled up outside their gate and demanded that they come to them.”

The Observer explained that further in accordance with information received from the CCN, the 18-year-old, recognising what was taking place, “ran towards the house screaming” and her father, who was inside the home, rushed to the outside with his licensed firearm in his hand.

It was then, the media house reported, that he “slipped and fell and his weapon went off” shooting Pia in the process. She was taken to the University Hospital in Kingston where she succumbed to her injuries sometime during the morning of Sunday, November 2, 2008.

The media house also states that investigations into the incident are being made by the Constant Spring police.

The Observer reports that it visited the home of Pai’s distraught family and spoke with the man responsible for the premature end of her life.

“When the Observer visited the family home on Sunday, Paul Phillips was too distraught to maintain a conversation. His face a mask of grief and anguish, he could only utter: ‘Mi lose mi queen pon her birthday - pon her birthday!’ - the sad wail of a dad who realised he had shot his beloved daughter…When asked what type of person Phillips was, he exclaimed as he broke down, tears streaming down his cheek, ‘Lawd God a good girl dat,’ while pointing out that the shooting was an accident,” the Jamaica Observer reported.

Since the occurrence, as reported by the Observer, tributes to the slain teenager have been posted on popular social networking site, Facebook, all of whom described the incident as sad and unfortunate and described the lass as being “wise beyond her age” and “destined for greatness”.