Mother of murdered Santa Cruz man urges young people to 'live with love'

THE MOTHER of a Santa Cruz man who was shot dead on November 1 is pleading with young people "to live with love" because hate is destroying the country.

"The simplest thing to do is to pick up a gun and kill someone, but as we all know, these are difficult times. We need to live with love and forgiveness. While we may not forget, we must show consideration for other lives; your turn may come next because there will always be someone seeking revenge."

Tevin "Chinee" Garcia, a 32-year-old father of one, was shot and killed at Sun Valley Extension, La Canoa Road, Lower Santa Cruz, around 8.30 pm.

His mother, Shirlin Pierrera, during a telephone interview with Newsday on Saturday, lamenting the loss of her son, who leaves behind a six-year-old boy.

"I spoke to him this morning and asked how he was feeling," she shared. "He said he’s okay, but he was very close to his father."

She said Garcia had become reclusive and may have been dealing with depression, abandoning his usual activities of fishing and playing sports.

"He had mostly been indoors but would go to the savannah with his son. He was not a very talkative person, so I can’t say for sure how he was feeling."

Asked if the shooting was gang-related, she said she was not sure and she felt as though things in the country are getting worse: “it just feels like a killing spree.”

Reflecting on crime, she said, “When Gary Griffith was commissioner, the area had gotten safer, but in recent months, there has been a lot of shootings.”

Garcia was the third of five children and Pierrera admitted she is not dealing well with his murder. She expressed her frustration with the escalating violence, saying,

"If I could speak to (Commissioner of Police) Erla Harewood-Christopher, I would tell her something needs to be done because there is too much crime, guns and illegal activities happening."

Despite her grief, she praised the quick response of the police and ambulance service after the shooting. She recalled the events leading to Garcia's death. While he was walking home with his brother, he was ambushed.

"I don’t know if someone was waiting for him or following him, but they shot him. He tried to get away, but he didn’t run fast enough."

Garcia was alone when he was shot as his brother stopped at a nearby shop to buy a soft drink. It was her other son who rushed home and told Pierrera what took place. She ran outside and found Garcia lying motionless in a pool of blood with wounds to the back of his head.

"I touched his stomach and realised there was no movement. The ambulance arrived and paramedics told me he had no pulse. That was it."

Pierrera said she wanted the public to know her son was a loving, caring person who kept to himself. She said a few years ago, Garcia had received death threats and left the area. He returned to about three years ago.

"He was involved in criminal activity years ago but changed his life, which led to the initial threats. He used to go to church occasionally, but then he started praying at home by himself."

On September 29, a shooting incident in Cantaro Village, Upper Santa Cruz, left one man dead and two others injured. The dead man was identified as Brian Phillip, of Jigger Hill, Upper Santa Cruz. The shooting took place near Choonkies Supermarket around 5.35 pm.

On October 3, Nakita Robinson, 35, Carrington Toussaint, 34, and Junior Walcott, 45, were shot at around 7.30 pm while liming near a shop in La Canoa Road, Santa Cruz.

Toussaint and Walcott underwent emergency surgery.

Toussaint was shot in his chest and leg and suffered a broken leg as a result of the shooting. Police reports say the victims were standing on the corner of Robinson Lane and Barnes Avenue with several other people when a white Nissan Tiida motor vehicle pulled up nearby.

A gunman came out and fired several shots at the group of people.