UWI student slain at birthday gathering

Seventy-year-old Patricia Moore is finding it difficult to stop the tears from flowing as she struggles to come to grips with the loss of her grandson Tyrese Caesar, one of the two young men killed in a shooting incident at Orange Cottage, St Joseph last night.

Moore cried out that while the entire family has been thrown into a state of shock and sadness, the pain Tyrese’s mother Jacqueline Caesar has been feeling since receiving the tragic news about the death of her only child can best be described as a significant burden for a mother to bear.

“He was my only grand and she is my only child. He didn’t have to die so. You don’t look forward to burying your children at all. He would have been 21 in September,” the grieving grandmother said.

“His mom is not coping well. She was here with me all morning. None of the family is doing well. It is not easy, but we are here trying to strengthen each other. His mother gone off to the doctor and as soon as she comes back then I will go.

“But she last saw him last night. Because when she saw him last night she just passed her hand on his chest and say ‘the hair on your stomach is so pretty’,” Moore added.

Moore who said she witnessed Tyrese birth, described the young man as a fun-loving person. She said she last saw him on Tuesday when he inquired about whether she liked the blouse and sandals he gifted her for her 70th birthday which she recently celebrated.

“Tyrese was a nice guy. From the time that you see him he would just cling to you, that was who he was. The personality, and from the time you see him, you get that bounce from him,” she said.

Acting Police Public Relations Officer Inspector Stephen Griffith said officers responded to the area around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 29, after a “number of explosions” were heard.

On arrival, they discovered the bodies of 20-year-old Tyrese Caesar of Durants, Christ Church outside the Cottage Bar and Grill; and 34-year-old Trae Harris of French Village, St Peter.

Nineteen-year-old Seth Towler of Heddings, St Philip, was also injured and taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) for treatment.

The grandmother said she was informed that her grandson was attending a birthday lime at the Orange Cottage where he was killed.

Tyrese is a former student of Queen’s College and The St Michael School. Moore said he was currently pursuing studies at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus.

She said he loved motorsports, but noted that he also had a strong upbringing in the church.

“He used to do a lot of praying for you and laying hands on you,” she said.

Tyrese recently returned from visiting Canada with his mother and stepfather, and Moore said she and the young man were planning to have an enjoyable time on an upcoming overseas trip.

“We already have our tickets to go to New York next month and he told me ‘gran we are going to have a good time together’. We were looking forward to that trip,” Moore said as the tears continued to flow.

Moore’s sister, Sonja Eastmond, who stood at her side offering comfort and support, also failed to hold back her tears.

Eastmond said everybody loved Tyrese.

“He was a sweet child. He would always check up on you. He was just that kind of child,” Eastmond said.

Meanwhile, Moore lamented that she was fed up with the level of gun violence taking place in Barbados.

“It is too much. One time in the older times you would try to pick up a stick or something and try to hit at somebody, or run for help. But every mimute now it is just guns, guns, guns,” Moore said, while shaking her head in disbelief.

When Barbados TODAY visited Harris’ French Village, St Peter home his relatives opted not to speak about his untimely passing.

There was a sombre mood at the Horse Hill community where the two men lost their lives. Residents were not willing to comment on a possible motive for the deadly event. anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb