In an emotional appeal to the nation, Prime Minister Mia Mottley on Wednesday condemned the senseless killing of 13-year-old Shawnaton Chase, who was fatally shot while watching a netball game in Silver Hill, Christ Church on Tuesday night. The slaying sparked nationwide grief and calls for collective action against violence.
“It is with profound sorrow that I address you today in the wake of a tragic incident that has shaken me and indeed many across our nation to the core. Last night, an innocent child lost his life having been caught in the crossfire of senseless violence. A young life, full of promise, extinguished prematurely,” Mottley said.
The prime minister, visibly moved, recalled a similar incident in August 2024, where a 12-year-old girl was shot in Silver Hill, Christ Church, and reminded the nation that combating violence requires a collective effort. She emphasised that no single entity – not the police, the government, nor any other institution – could solve the problem alone.
Mottley also called upon those involved in gun violence to reflect on the devastating impact of their actions.
“To those who believe that guns are the answer, I beseech you, I beg you to consider the innocent lives that you are endangering. You were not brought into this world to do this,” she said. “To the mothers, the fathers, the sisters, the brothers, the friends, the grandmothers, the grandparents, godparents, anybody, somebody on the brink of making these choices, bring them back. Intervene, talk with them, have the difficult but necessary conversations, encourage them to put down the weapons when people seek peaceful resolutions.”
She further stressed: “We cannot allow our beloved Barbados to become a place where our children are no longer safe or no longer feel safe, where elderly people also don’t feel safe, where laughter is silenced by gunfire and where families suffer the devastating pain and anguish that is inconsolable. Conflict, my friends, yes, is an inevitable part of life from the beginning of humanity…but violence is not and has never, never, never been the solution.”
Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne.
Mottley insisted that society must draw firm boundaries to protect children and the elderly.
“There must still be things in this world that are sacred places that are off limits, moments that are not to be violated. Above all else, our children, our future, our sons and our daughters must remain untouched by the madness that is seeking to tear our communities apart. There’s enough madness in this world, we don’t need to have it here. A child should never have to run from gunfire, should never be caught in the crosshairs of vengeance, should never have their laughter silenced by bullets. If we can’t agree on anything else, let us agree on this…our children are not and must never be our targets. They’re not to be collateral damage. Our children and our elderly are the lines that we must never cross, and we have to come to a pact in this country about it,” she said.
She appealed to Barbadians to stand together against violence: “Let us unite as a nation to say enough is enough, and let us work together to reclaim our communities and ensure that our children can grow up in a Barbados where they feel safe and cherished and free from the shadow of violence. May we all say prayers for his family, and may we all find the strength to be the change that our country needs.”
Echoing Mottley’s sentiments, Leader of the Opposition Ralph Thorne described the incident as a clash between “wicked violence and precious innocence”
He said: “This unspeakable tragedy has been a meeting between wicked violence and precious innocence. At a time of rampant wrongdoing, we have all feared that this dreadful defeat of a young life would take place. We come to this horrible moment of national mourning, feeling that we have failed in our duty to give to Shawnaton the longevity of life that all our young people deserve. Can we now commit to ensure that this will be the last sacrifice of a precious young citizen?”
The Christ Church South MP extended heartfelt condolences to the grieving Chase family and the Silver Hill community: “The Democratic Labour Party today extends sincere condolences to this hapless Chase family and covenants with the people of Barbados that it will be our duty to do all that we must to cease the ruination and suffering that violence visits on the lives of our people.” (SB)
