10-year-old Arima boy shot dead

The relatives of ten-year-old Christian Liverpool were still in tears on Friday morning. Christian was shot and killed at his home at Bellamy Street, Cocorite Road, Arima at around 8 pm on Thursday.

Police are still trying to confirm whether he was shot while playing with a gun or whether someone else was involved in the incident.

A 38-year-old relative was detained and is assisting police with their enquiries.

Police seized a black Smith and Wesson pistol with eight rounds of ammunition, and a spent shell.

Newsday visited the family's home and spoke with Christian’s older cousin Cindy Liverpool, who said she was deeply shaken and grieving.

Liverpool, who has a parlour on the property where her cousin was killed, recalled seeing him a few minutes before he died.

"He just came by me to buy three biscuits and a small soft drink, and that was the last I saw of him.

"I heard a loud explosion and I ran down into the yard to see if my children were okay. When I realised they were okay, I came back to the shop – and that's when I heard the screaming.

"At first I heard the stepmother screaming, but then I heard the father screaming as well."

Liverpool said she helped relatives take Christian to the Arima hospital, where he was declared dead at 8.31 pm. She said she does not know who owned the gun.

Liverpool added that her ex-husband, who also heard about Christian's death, visited the house and took custody of their two-year-old daughter the same night.

Liverpool described Christian as a quiet, well-behaved child who preferred to use his electronic tablet instead of going outside.

"It's not a nice thing to see this little boy just five minutes before and then to see him in the condition he was in."

Liverpool's aunt Maricia Liverpool said she was still trying to make sense of the incident.

"He was one of the nicest children you would meet.

"He wanted to be a scientist. At night he would look at the sky and wonder how certain things worked. He was very inquisitive."

From outside the family's home, the screams and cries of Christian’s stepmother could be heard as neighbours visited the family offering support and condolences.

Christian was a standard four student of the Arima New Government Primary School.

Up to midday on Friday, police still had not categorised the child’s death as a murder or an accidental killing.

Residents also told Newsday they heard gunfire in several different parts of Arima before and after Christian’s death.