00:00 The grim reminder of senseless gun violence was still evident today at the
00:04 minimart at the corner of Skylark Crescent and Emperor Berserkela in
00:08 Bonaire Gardens, Arouca, where the lives of 14-year-old Anim Pesard and 19-year-old
00:14 Olun Jones were snuffed out by brazen gunmen last night. Investigators told TV6
00:20 News that the shooting happened shortly after 10 p.m. A car with armed men
00:25 pulled up and opened fire on people gathered in a group outside the minimart
00:29 formerly known as Patsy's Shop. The killers were armed with AK-47s and AR-15
00:34 weapons. Moments before the shooting, Jones, who was inside the minimart, came out
00:39 after someone raised an alarm about the strange vehicle but by that time it was
00:43 too late and he was shot several times collapsing in front of the doorway. One
00:48 side of the slippers he was wearing was still on the pavement. Pesard, according
00:52 to the owner of the minimart, who didn't want to be named, said he came to
00:55 purchase bread as another nearby shop he had visited earlier did not have any. He
01:01 said if Pesard had gotten bread there, he would have been alive today. Pesard
01:06 attempted to run but collapsed near these drain guards and died shortly
01:10 after. Pesard was a student at Diggle Martin Central Secondary School. His
01:15 relatives had promised to speak with us but later declined. And while Pesard's
01:19 loss is heartbreaking for the community, the loss of Jones was equally profound.
01:25 Jones's short life spun pretty quickly. He had been living at Cuckoo Drive not
01:31 far away in a rundown house once owned by his mother who passed when he was
01:35 much younger. Olan Jones had a difficult childhood. He spent a considerable time
01:41 after his mother's death in an institution and later found himself in
01:46 YTC and later in prison. But when he came out after graduating from Milot, he
01:53 seemed to be a changed boy. After living in an abandoned house for almost two
01:59 years, he was allowed to come to this space here and in this room where he
02:05 spent the last two months was able to blossom his singing career and even
02:09 recorded a hit recently called "Heart of Letter". In this song, Jones spoke about
02:16 his hardships and making it in life.
02:21 [Music]
02:37 The shop owner said he allowed Jones to move into this adjoining bedroom to the
02:41 shop to give him that push and start he so yearned for to succeed. It was evident
02:49 only a few months ago when Jones spoke about his life after graduating from the
02:53 Milot program.
02:54 I never really had luxurious things. I never had material things. I never had food.
03:01 My father wasn't around and there was a lot of negative influences around but that
03:09 didn't stop me from pushing towards singing. I declared my mother was alive.
03:16 My mother was my greatest motivation before she passed. My mother passed away from
03:22 pulmonary fibrosis and she passed right in front of my eyes. That was the greatest
03:29 traumatic experience that I ever encountered, that I feel I will ever encounter, that hurt me dearly.
03:38 Police are still trying to ascertain the motive for the shooting and who exactly
03:42 was the intended target. Mark Besant, TV6 News.
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