Mother of 15-year-old bandit: POLICE TARGETED MY SON

The mother of 15-year-old Isaac Simmons who police killed on Thursday in a shootout during a robbery at Marabella, accused police of “always threatening to kill” her family. Shenelle Rock said members of her family have always been the target of numerous incidents of police brutality.

The mother of four, of Union Park East in Marabella, said the police accomplished their goal by killing her son. He was a Form Three student of the Carapichaima West Secondary School.

“Police wanted to kill my child,“ Rock said.

”Do you know how much innocent cases my children get from police? If the children are walking out the road and police see them, is gun butt to the head and taps. Police plant things on my children. Police even tax them.”

Police said they responded to a report of a robbery involving three men at the home of a bank manager at Moze Drive, Gopaul Lands at about 4pm.

PC Anand Ram, 27, and three colleagues from the Gasparillo police station arrived and saw the men running away. The men, the police said, shot at them and they returned fire. Simmons was shot and died at the scene. Ram was shot in the abdomen but survived and is receiving treatment at the San Fernando general hospital.

Rock recalled that earlier in the day, while she and Simmons were asleep, a man came to visit him and they left.

The boy returned about two hours later and left again. Although she was at home when the shootout occurred, Rock said she simultaneously began having head and belly aches.

“I started to call my sons, and none was answering. Police are always coming and pelting bullets here and advantaging them. Police said he was in a robbery, they got all the stuff, so why kill him? I could have been in the jail to see my child. They could have locked him up. They wicked.”

She referred to Simmons as a loving child who would do anything anyone asked him to do.

“Although he had his lil ways, he would do it. I know my son probably had bad company, but he was a bright child who wanted to become a welder. Police keep harassing and provoking my children.“

Only on Wednesday, a Chaguanas magistrate placed the boy on a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years. He was charged with having marijuana at school. Nearly two years ago, he was transferred from the Marabella South Secondary School because of a “misunderstanding.”

“I know nothing will come out of this. I just have to pray and ask the Lord to give me my justice. God sees and knows everything. Even in death they are suffering him because he converted to Muslim and we have to wait for the autopsy quite Monday.”

Only last year, Simmons returned to live at Marabella from Tarodale and she is now pondering about her future saying police may now target her 17-year-old son. Southern Division police said Simmons had a case pending for robbery.