Stabbed schoolboy luckier than $28 million Lotto winner

Luckier than the person who won TT$28 million in a recent Lotto draw. This was the comparison used by a doctor to illustrate to 15-year-old Shaquille ‘Shaq’ Ramsey and his mother, Elizabeth Solomon, how lucky the teenager was to have escaped injury to heart or lungs after being stabbed in the chest on March 23.

An emotional Elizabeth Solomon provided Newsday with this update on her son’s condition yesterday afternoon, a few hours after his release from the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC), Mt Hope.

“This is so traumatic. We have the support of family and friends but my child came within a centimetre or so of possibly losing his life. The head of the chest department said my son is luckier than the person who won the TT$28 million – the stab wound was very, very close to his heart. Imagine my son almost died for a phone!”

Taking a few deep breaths to maintain her composure, an “emotionally broken down” Solomon expressed thanks to God and all those who helped save her son’s life. Last Friday afternoon, Ramsey was headed to his Junior Achievers class at Trinity College East (TCE), Trincity Central Road, Trincity when he was robbed of his cell phone and stabbed in the chest, allegedly by a male Form Four student of TCE.

Having spent much of the weekend in hospital, Ramsey is now recuperating at home. He is on antibiotics and painkillers and must soon begin attending the Mt Hope Chest Clinic. The teenager is expected to make a full recovery in four to six weeks.

While Ramsey’s parents are worried about his future safety – he attends Arima Central Secondary School but his Junior Achiever classes are held at TCE – he’s already said he “wants to go back” to Junior Achiever classes as soon as possible.

“My son never got in trouble in school. The most they probably told him about is his hairstyle. He’s an obeying, loving child.”

Solomon added,”I have to figure out how to keep my son safe” without depriving him of his usual activities, inclusive of completing the Junior Achiever programme.

TCE put out a statement on March 24 in which it said, “We want to assure those involved and concerned that we will cooperate with the TT Police Service in their investigation.”

“We apologise to (Ramsey) and his family over this unfortunate incident and wish the student a speedy recovery. (TCE) has a zero-tolerance policy on violence and the student involved will be dealt with in accordance with the Ministry of Education’s policy and the laws of TT,” TCE said.

Commenting on this, Solomon told Newsday she’s even more determined to hire a lawyer to pursue legal action against her son’s alleged attacker because several students have told her this is not the first time the Form Four student has been in trouble with the law.

“Pursuing this through the court system is important to me because I don’t want another parent to go through what I went through. My heart broke, just getting the news. My son has goals and dreams. He could’ve lost his life for a cell phone!”

“Several students told me that he’s been expelled more than once but pardoned because he’s a great player, an asset to their football team. That’s why I’m hiring a lawyer, because I don’t want another child to be hurt by him.”