[UPDATED] Mother of Valencia boy, 15, shot dead: My son was targeted

SARA Subah is convinced that gunmen deliberately cornered her son Keil Paul, 15, of KP Lands, Valencia, and shot him six times.

He was shot in the upper body and legs at a football match at a savannah, a stone's throw away from their home, on Saturday evening.

A man is warded at the Sangre Grande District Hospital in critical condition after he too was shot.

Speaking to Newsday at the Forensic Science Centre in St James on Monday, Subah said she was convinced that her son, based on the number of times he was shot, was the intended target of the gunmen. She admitted, however, that she could not think of a motive for the attack.

“He wasn’t killed with no stray bullet. Because if it was just a shooting, one or two bullet might hit him. It was a crowd he was in. And with the amount of people that run, how nobody else pick up shot? How my son alone pick up six shots?

"This is what going through my mind. And with the rapid gunfire I hear, I don’t think anyone could have survived that, not even my child.”

It was reported that the gunmen got out of a hatchback car, shot into the crowd, cornered Paul and killed him. They then returned to the ar and left. Paul was pronounced dead and his body was removed to the Forensic Science Centre for an autopsy.

Subah said Paul, a form-three student at Coryal High School, dreamt of joining the defence force after leaving school.

“To lose a child is not an easy thing, especially a child who wasn’t disobedient or disrespectful. It’s hard to cope with that feeling right now.

“He used to say, 'My mom is everything to me. She would take her last and give it to us.'

"He promised (that) when he start to work, he would support me. I wouldn’t have to ask for anything. That’s the kind of words I used to get from him."

Subah said her son had provided emotional support during tragic experiences over the years. The mother of three said she now had to be strong for her two daughters.

“Losing my first child is still really hard.”

She described Paul as loving, understanding and always content with the little she could provide.

“So losing a child like that, it hurts.

“He was playing football in the field, and they say a car come and men come out from the car and everybody started to run. I’m not sure if he was trampled over or what was the situation but, when I got to him, he was unresponsive.”

She said the last time she spoke to her son was when he asked her to go outside to play on the savannah grounds.

“His stepfather told him no, so he called and asked me. I told him he could go ahead.

"When I got home I (met him in the road and) asked him why his hair (was) in that condition, because he was growing his hair. He said his sister had to shampoo it, and so I went up the road and helped him shampoo it.

“He went and bathe and was singing in the bathroom and I went to take a rest because I was tired.

"I told him don’t go anywhere and he told me he won’t. He said he would go inside and go on the phone. That was the last conversation I had with him.”

Moments later she heard several gunshots.

The thought of her son being injured in the shooting or, worse yet, dead, never crossed her mind until she realised he was not inside.

“The savannah isn’t far from us. So I jump up when I heard the gunshots and I asked his sister, ‘Where is your brother?’

"I asked her what he wearing, and she said a white jacket and a black pants. I looked across in the savannah and see somebody lying on the ground in white and black.

She said she immediately ran to Paul but, by the time she got to him, he was already dead.

“He wasn’t a child in any gang. He was not smoking and he and his sister was like one. I guess he went back outside to meet friends and succumbed to his injuries.”

Subah broke down tears as she explained that her family had been traumatised by violence in the past.

“I have been shot in my right leg in 2021. The they shoot up my place in 22. Then my business was robbed in the second week in February and now I lost my child. So I have been going through it for a while, but losing him is so hard.

She lamented, “This is my first and only boy child.”

The family said crime was out of control and their faith in the justice system had dwindled.

As Subah was consoled, another relative told Newsday, “Police not doing anything, and when you take thing into your own hands you’re wrong. But let us be real, something having to go on, something.”

To those responsible for her son’s death, Subah said: “Revenge is God own. When he acts out, the world trembles.

"I hope whoever did it have a conscience knowing that they took away an innocent child that was not in nothing. An innocent child. They left a mother in tears and pain because I work so hard to see about my child, and they just take him away from me.

“He now start to live. Just 15 years, he don’t know anything about life!”

This story was originally published has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

SARA Subah is convinced that gunmen deliberately cornered her son Keil Paul, 15, of KP Lands, Valencia and shot him six times.

He was shot in the upper body and legs at a football match at a savannah a stone's throw away from their home on Saturday evening.

A man is warded at the Sangre Grande District Hospital in critical condition after he was also shot.

Although she could not think of a motive – but judging from the number of times he was shot – Paul's mother is convinced her son, who was a form three student at Coryal High School, was the target.

“He wasn’t killed with no stray bullet, because if it was just a shooting, one or two bullet might hit him. It was a crowd he was in, and with the amount of people that run, how nobody else pick up shot? How my son alone pick up six shots?

"This is what going through my mind. And with the rapid gunfire I hear, I don’t think anyone could have survived that, not even my child.”

It was reported that the gunmen got out of a hatchback car, shot into the crowd, cornered Paul and killed him. They then returned to the car and left. Paul was pronounced dead and his body was removed to the Forensic Science Centre for an autopsy.

Paul dreamt of joining the defence force after leaving school.

Speaking to Newsday at the Forensic Science Centre, Subah said, “To lose a child is not an easy thing, especially a child who wasn’t disobedient or disrespectful. It’s hard to cope with that feeling right now.

“He used to say, 'My mom is everything to me. She would take her last and give it to us.' He promised when he start to work he would support me, I wouldn’t have to ask for anything. That’s the kind of words I used to get from him."

Investigations are ongoing.