"Rumours can have very serious repercussions"...says young mother
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A young mother is highly perturbed over rumours being spread within her community and also via BlackBerry, accusing her of being involved in the shooting incident that claimed the life of 23-year-old Alexter Eloni Jeffers and the wounding of Kenya Francis and Kemo Flemming.
This morning (July 15), a teary-eyed Kaywana Hughes of Upper Shaw Avenue, McKnight walked into the Editorial Office of SKNVibes to clear the air on the accusation by relating what she experienced on the night of June 27, 2011.
This media house learnt that on that night, at about 10:00, while Jeffers, Flemming and Francis were among a group of young men outside of Y’s Shop on Fiennes Avenue, a number of men who had exited a vehicle on the Bay Road and made their way up Fiennes Avenue stalked and upon fire on them.
One man was shot in an alley next to Y’s Shop while two others ran up the Avenue in an attempt to escape from their assailants but were shot when they reached the junction of Fiennes Avenue and Central Street.
This media house was also told that Hughes was returning home after purchasing something from John’s Shop at the junction of Fiennes Avenue and Fort Thomas Road when she felt a burning sensation on the right side of her lower back.
Sources claimed that on realising she was shot, Hughes ran into a neighbour’s home to avoid further injuries.
The shooting victims were transported to the JNF General Hospital by private vehicles but Jeffers died while undergoing emergency medical treatment.
Hughes said that since the incident, she has been hearing rumours that she was in league with the assailants because she was seen using her cell phone shortly before the incident; allegations which she strongly denies.
The 23-year-old explained that she was born and raised in McKnight, lives well with her neighbours and avoids conflict at all costs.
Explaining what she experienced on that fatal night, Hughes said, “I was in my home with my four-year-old son and, shortly before 10 o’clock, I felt hungry and decided to leave the home to purchase something from John’s Shop.
“So, I left my son on the bed watching TV and walked down Shaw Avenue. I then took a left onto Central Street, turned down Thibou Avenue and was walking on the left side of the road. At that time, I decided to call my boyfriend on my cell phone while continuing on my way to the shop.
“When I got to John’s Shop, I bought two pieces of chicken, a lemonade Kool-Aid, a cream soda and a hot dog bread. On leaving the shop, I had the soda in one hand, I put my cell phone in the bag with the other things that I purchased and held it in my other hand, and my purse was placed under my arm.
“I was walking across Fort Thomas Road when I heard the sound of gunfire, so I quickened my pace to return home. As I was passing a small shop I looked back and saw some men running in my direction and one of them said, ‘Run girl run…run down the steps.’ I took the advice and started running towards the steps.
“I ran down the steps and continued running on the sidewalk while thinking of somewhere to hide. Suddenly, I felt a burning sensation on my lower right side and I slowed down but kept running. When I reached by York’s Bar I saw some men there and they too started to run,” Hughes explained.
Looking for a place of safety, Hughes said while on Fiennes Avenue, she saw a house with the front door standing ajar and she entered.
“When I got inside I closed the door and stood behind it. I guess the owner must have heard when I entered the house, because she came out of a bedroom and met me in the living room. I told her that I just got shot but it seemed as if she didn’t quite understand what I was saying.
“Shortly after that I left her home with the intention of going to the hospital. However, while on the road I saw Officer Perceval who called out to me to go to him. I told him, ‘No, no…is au shoot me.’ He then asked me what happened and I told him that I was shot.
Hughes explained that a parked car with two persons inside was in the immediate vicinity and Officer Perceval told the driver to take her to the hospital.
“On my way to the hospital, and knowing that my son was alone at home, I called my mother and asked her to go for him. However, while at the hospital, Officer Perceval paid me a visit and out of curiosity I asked him how the police had arrived at the scene so quickly.
“Officer Perceval told me that they were patrolling along the Bay Road and they saw when the men who were at York’s Bar and I were running down the steps, so they swung up the road and followed me.”
The young mother said she had dismissed the rumour when she first heard it on the day she was discharged from the hospital, but since then it has intensified.
“I am an innocent victim of some unscrupulous men and yet people are peddling rumours that I was involved in the shooting incident. If the bullet had pierced my skull or heart and had died either on the spot or at the hospital, who would they have blamed?
“Rumours, especially one of this nature, are dangerous and can have very serious repercussions. I am therefore pleading with those persons who are spreading the rumour to desist; for the truth can be nothing more or less than what I have experienced on that fateful night that resulted in the death of one of my fellow villagers and almost took mine and two others as well.”
Kaywana Hughes is still recuperating from her wound and hopes not to have a similar experience as long as she lives.
