Pastor: She was in wrong place at wrong time

A female relative of 14-year-old Naomi Nelson collapsed on a chair and screamed out Naomi's name as grief overtook her on Monday during the funeral at the L'Anse Mitan Recreational Grounds in Carenage.

Nelson was killed when she was shot once in the back of the head on the night of May 3, during a shootout between police and unidentified gunmen at Big Yard in Carenage.

The stands at the ground were packed to capacity as mourners showed up to pay their final respects. Several of her friends from East Mu­cu­rapo Sec­ondary School remained calm during the service, but could not hold back the flood of tears as they viewed her body at the end. The grief seemed to be felt by everyone as small groups of mourners clung to each other shaking and screaming, "Why Naomi, why?"

Political leader of the Movement for Social Justice David Abdulah said drastic change has to come quickly in order to stop the violence.

"The violence is very bad. We have a culture of violence in the country and the society which is not new and is being manifested in many ways. We have to address that culture of violence in a fundamental way, from our education system, from our social relations and economic relations. We have to transform TT."

Abdulah told Newsday after the funeral that he had been supporting the family since the incident and was genuinely concerned for the people of Carenage.

"It's a very sad afternoon for her family and the community of Carenage and all of her friends from school and the steelband. There's a lot of pain, a lot of anger and a lot of grief in the community."

During the very short service, pastor Victor Harewood said Nelson was a kind person who was not violent, and he blamed her death on being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

He pleaded with mourners to not hang on to anger and tried to comfort Nelson's family by asking them to keep their faith strong during this trying time, as he believed they would soon find permanent relief from their pain.

Nelson's death increased tension between residents of the area and the police, as some residents have claimed that the bullet which killed her came from a police gun.

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith has confirmed the matter is under investigation, but has also disputed that Naomi was killed by a police bullet.