The father of 13-year-old Shawnathon Chase, who was shot and killed on Tuesday night in Silver Hill, Christ Church, is calling for harsher penalties for gun offenders, as Barbados continues to grapple with a spike in firearm-related violence involving youth.
Speaking from his home in Silver Hill, Shawn Chase said the loss of his only son has left him devastated and he pleaded for stronger action from authorities.
“We talk about this all the time at work. The punishment is too soft. They get held and the next couple of months they get released,” he said.
“There needs to be harsher punishments for these individuals because a lot of them are young. They aren’t old like me. They are really young, just taking out guns on hire… something really needs to be done… it really needs to be nipped in the bud.”
Police said the teen was watching a netball game on the hardcourt in the area around 9 p.m. when two gunmen appeared from behind nearby housing units and opened fire.
The teenager, a second-form student of The Lodge School, was shot in the chest and abdomen and died while undergoing emergency surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Chase recalled cooking in the kitchen when he heard the gunshots ring out.
“I was home here in the kitchen cooking and I heard the gunshots… and then [Shawnathon’s] brother went outside to somebody who told him his brother got shot and he ran back inside and said Shawn got shot,” he said.
“I tried to call, but they told me they were rushing him to the hospital. I had to turn off the stove and run and go down there, and when I got there they told me they had to rush him to surgery and that he looked really bad, that we have to hope and pray for the best.”
“We waited and waited and then they told me they couldn’t save him,” Chase added.
The grieving father described his son as intelligent, playful, and well-loved in the community.
“He was very happy and playful. Everybody in the area liked him. He liked his bicycle, always telling me he wanted a motorcycle,” Chase said through tears.
“He didn’t get into trouble. He was doing well at school. He was a very intelligent fellow just starting life.”
The incident comes as the country continues to face a worrying increase in gun violence. According to the Barbados Crime Observatory, 49 murders were recorded in 2024—a 158 per cent increase from the previous year—with firearms used in 34 of those killings. The average age of accused perpetrators was just over 21 years old.
Chase said he appreciated the presence of government ministers who visited him following the shooting, calling their gesture “heartwarming” but stressed that more must be done.
“I would just want these youngsters who are walking about shooting up the place to cut it out,” he said.
“It hit me real hard. I still can’t really believe it.”
Police are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the shooting or who may have information to contact the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-8477, Police Emergency at 211, or the Oistins Police Station at 418-2612 or 418-2608.
shannamoore@barbadostoday.bb
