Mother of girl, 16, killed by police: Love, don't judge your children

The day after six people – five men and one teenage girl – were killed after a deadly shootout with police in Freeport, two more parents spoke about the deaths of their loved ones.

In a statement on August 15, police confirmed the identities of the slain men as Jovan Simon, 31; Nicholas Caesar; Saleem John, 19; Kedeem John, 23; and Isaiah Olivierre, 21.

Police said around 11.35 am on August 14 officers responded to information about a robbery and went to a house in Razack Trace, Freeport.

Police said when they arrived, they were shot at and shot back, shooting six people in the exchange.

All six were taken to the Couva Health Facility, where they were pronounced dead on arrival.

Police said they found three pistols, along with items belonging to the victim of the robbery.

The teenager's mother confirmed her daughter, Salome Ranghill, 16, was the lone female killed by the police in the incident on August 14.

Speaking on Ian Alleyne's Crime Watch on August 15, Shaunelle Ranghill said she last saw her daughter on August 13.

"She said she was going by one of her friends" – a friend the mother was familiar with.

She said her daughter recently completed a one-day nail course in acrylics, which her uncle had paid for.

"She is a very loved child, she makes friends easily and she's beautiful. She was funny and full of life."

Shaunelle said her entire family was in a "mess."

Visibly frustrated, she said no officials had contacted her.

On August 14, Newsday saw Shaunelle at the Couva Health Facility and, as with the other families, no one from the police or the hospital spoke to them while Newsday was there.

Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations Junior Benjamin said the norm in cases like these is for the families to identify the bodies at the Forensic Science Centre, St James.

"If someone dies on the scene, you can’t bring someone to see the body on the ground, because they could be tampering with evidence."

Newsday asked about the process when bodies could not be identified.

He said, "Some of the things that we do is we use ID cards, and some of the people are well known to the police.

"When we don’t have that, we ask people if they haven’t seen their loved one they can let us know.

"Many times people are aware when their relatives are involved in nonsense, so if they haven’t seen them in a while, they will call and we will look and see if what they described fits the description of the individual in our custody."

Continuing the interview on Crime Watch, Shaunelle said, "I went down to Couva Health Facility. They did not show me her, nobody spoke to me, nobody gave me any information."

She said the other relatives at the health facility were also angry about the process.

Shaunelle said Ranghill's father died three years ago during covid19.

Alleyne asked how she became affiliated with the men at the house.

Shaunelle said, "When her father died, she had a little episode.

"She just latched on to certain individuals and I think she still had a connection to them."

Shaunelle said she cautioned Ranghill about them many times.

She said Ranghill would have entered form five next term.

"All children make mistakes. I grew up making mistakes as well.

"I know my children would find their way, just as I found my way."

She questioned how her daughter's picture from inside the hospital was posted online and the method used by the police.

"How can an officer see my innocent child and look at her and kill her?"

She said her daughter did not have a criminal record, but had "one or two teenage issues in school."

The advice she had for parents of teenagers 14-16 was not to judge them.

"Love them, don't judge them, understand them. Give them freedom, but not too much. Listen to them more. Hold on to your children!"

Kadeem John, 23, and Saleem John, 19, were also confirmed to have died in the police-involved shooting.

Their mother, who did not want to be named, spoke to Newsday in an emotional phone interview on August 15.

She said, "They were wild, funny, playful, irritating, frustrating, loving and caring."

She admitted the brothers did get involved with the wrong people.

"I don't know the company, but Kedeem, he get mix up with the wrong company."

She said she would not make any excuses for the brothers if they had done what the police said they did, but wished the police had handled the situation differently.

"They could've throw them in jail.

"I do not know the extent of everything, but there are other families also grieving as well."

As she fought tears, she advised parents to hold their children before losing them.

She said she did not have the resources to take the matter further (take legal action against the State), but would support the other families if they did.

She now has a focus.

"I have to study my other six children. I don't want any backlash onto them or harm onto them."

She said she warned and even stopped talking to Kedeem when he got into trouble, and never showed up for him during that time.

"I showed him that whatever you're doing, I was not proud of it nor appreciate it.

"The old saying is you make the child, but you don't make their mind.

"I wish I could've make his mind."

With reporting by Kristen Le-Chelle Winchester