Gloria John grieves for her two sons

Mother of four, Gloria John, is trying her best to come to terms with the answers that she has received so far in the death of her 19-year-old son Andy ‘Maddis’ John.{{more}}

John, who resides in Hollywood, Redemption Sharpes, is trying to accept the heart wrenching fact that Andy’s younger brother Andre may in some way have been involved in his July 6 shooting death, in another part of the community.

The deceased’s lifeless body was found on ‘The Rocks’ in the early hours of the morning, with a gunshot wound to the chest. 17-year-old Andre, and also Dwayne Stephens and another youth, a minor, were formally charged with the killing on Monday this week, much to the surprise of most in the community in which the boys resided.

The matriarch John, sitting down once again with SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday, July 13, claims that the news that her youngest child is in some way implicated in the tragedy is a hard blow to take.

“It’s killing me. I really feeling it. I feeling it for Andy, but I feeling it more for Andre because he is round there (jail) and I don’t think I could live without being around them.”

“When I hear Andre involved, it make me feel worse. I don’t know why the two of them have to go on a mission.”

The ‘mission’ refers to a retaliatory attack on some other youths in the Rocks community where Andy met his death, and left the others with several criminal charges, including murder, attempted murder, discharging a firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Gloria said that she believes her sons were influenced by bad company and that the boys, whom she said were very close, were not known as trouble makers, but admitted that Andre, also known as ‘Tek’, was known to be the more vocal of the two.

“They never used to trouble anybody, but if you see you provoke Andre, he would cuss you.”

“They used to be the first voices I hear in the morning, and now I can’t hear from them at all,” John lamented.

John made a passionate call for the end of the violence in the community.

“The gang culture in Sharpes, it need to stop. Everybody need to come back united and put down the knife and guns. They need to come back to God.”

The bereaved mother said that she has no ill feelings against her son Andre, neither the other youngsters accused of killing their friend.

She said that although the circumstances surrounding Andy’s death are a bit clearer than one week ago, one thing is still not clear – who pulled the trigger that ended her son’s life.

“I done forgive them. I don’t hate none of them. It done happen so, so I can’t hate them. I don’t want none of them to be in there (jail), but what I am saying is – open your mouth and say something; somebody must know. I want to know who kill Andy.”

The domestic worker took the opportunity to state that the information that she related to SEARCHLIGHT in the last interview was what she had received from others, and that she was in no way trying to mislead the public.

She said that recent happenings have caused her to contemplate making some changes in her own life.

“I am going to give back my life to Christ because He is the only one who could support me in this or else I would go mad.”

“It is not going to be the same. It is hard that I have to bury Andy. It is harder if I can’t get Andre out.”

Andy is scheduled to be buried today, Friday, July 15. The funeral service will take place at the Revival Centre Church at Murray’s Village, followed by his interment at the Kingstown cemetery.