(Trinidad Guardian) – A family which was preparing to celebrate a 96th birthday today was thrown into mourning when 2-year-old Gonzales schoolboy Yakini Charles was shot and killed on his way home from school.
According to police reports, Charles, a Form One Tranquility Govern-ment Secondary School student, was heading back to his Pitman Lane, Gonzales, home around 8.30 am when he was shot in the back along St Andrew Lane, Gonzales.
Charles ran along Olton Road after being shot but collapsed and was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital by a truck driver who saw him lying on the roadway. Charles died while being treated.
Relatives said Charles was returning home to change his school shirt, which he claimed was not fitting well as it was too big.
An ongoing war between two gangs in Gonzales is being blamed for the child’s killing. Relatives said the gunmen from one side had pounced on a group of men who were seen liming in the area just before Charles passed on his way home.
Charles’ great-grandmother Lanthe Layne turns 96 today and her family was planning a surprise birthday lime for her but those plans have been dashed.
When the media visited the child’s home yesterday his paternal grandmother, Lucille Layne, and great-grandmother spoke highly of the young man, who was the eldest of four children.
Both women said Charles would be missed dearly as he was very helpful. The women claimed Charles was sent home from school to his death by Tranquility Government Secondary staff.
However, the school and the child’s father, Saad Charles, have denied that.
