by ELDONTE SAMUEL

The brother of one of the men who were shot and killed at Redemption Sharpes last weekend is angry over what he said was a senseless slaying and described the incident as an act of cowardice, which has robbed his family of a cherished member.

Lorenzo DeShong, 30, died at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital after he was shot at a liquor and provision shop by masked men around 2.30 last Saturday, November 3.

“I was told that one of the gunman just opened fire on him, while the others went to their target…That is the only part I can’t understand, it just baffles me, drives me in a rage at times too… I see it as an act of cowardice on the shooter’s part,” Lorenzo’s older brother, Rico told SEARCHLIGHT this week.

He made it clear that his brother was in no way associated with 27-year-old Jerroy “Jay Jay” Phillips, who was also shot in that incident and died at the scene of last weekend’s shooting.

The younger DeShong was reportedly at the shop in the community when a white jeep approached the area around 2:35 p.m.
Four masked emerged from the vehicle and opened gun fire, spraying Lorenzo and Jerroy with a hail of bullets.

Rico told SEARCHLIGHT that he and his younger brother last spoke on Thursday,November 3, two days before the shooting.

He explained that they do not get to see each other often as they had different working hours, and as they do not live together, they would only get to see each other on weekends.

The brothers were planning to travel to the Netherlands next year for their mother’s fiftieth birthday, and also had agreed to meet each other on the day of the shooting.

“It’s going to be our mom’s fiftieth next year, so basically we were just planning to go and see her in the Netherlands,” Rico explained.

He also said if Lorenzo hadn’t been killed he would have seen him about half an hour or so after the time of the shooting as he had planned to join his brother at the business place where they often hung out. He himself was at the shop on the night prior to the shooting.

Although both brothers were born in St Vincent, Lorenzo went to school in Saba Island, but they both travelled to the Netherlands from time to time.

Rico said his brother was excitedly looking forward to the trip to Saba, since it was a while since he was last there.

“He went to school in Saba and he hasn’t seen his friends that he left there and the other people he left there in a long time.

“ I’ve been there maybe two or three times since he left Saba, so he was excited about the trip.”

Rico said his brother had a close relationship with his mother and while he, Rico was the eldest and Lorenzo the middle child, Lorenzo was the one who got the most attention. The third brother, the youngest, is studying abroad.

He said their mother is not taking the news of the death of her son well.

When Lorenzo left Saba, he went to live with his grandmother at Redemption Sharpes who took care of him until her death.

Rico said he is getting different stories about the shooting but he is “not really interested in the story, cause none of it is going to make a difference”.

“What I do know is that he had no affiliation with the other person who died ( Jerroy Phillips). I think most persons would know about the other individual, the alleged intended target,” Rico added.

“My brother was just too unfortunate to be there at the time.”

Relating to SEARCHLIGHT what is alleged to have happened last Saturday, Rico said “I was also told that he wasn’t directly where they were, so I still can’t understand why my brother was shot.”

He said “Where the shooting took place was maybe about 10 feet away from where my brother was, so the shooting took place outside of the shop where the individual was, and my brother was inside the shop, I was told.”

He was also told that one of

the gunmen just opened fire

on Lorenzo, while the others

went to their apparent intended target.

“…That is the only part I can’t understand, it just baffles me, drives me in a rage at times too… I see it as an act of cowardice on the shooter’s part,” an emotional Rico told SEARCHLIGHT.

He said neither he nor his brother had any fear living in Redemption Sharpes as that’s where they grew up, and they understand what takes place in the community.

“To the people living in the community, we know it’s still a loving community, bad things happen, bad people come into the community as anywhere else, it can happen and bad things happen.”

Rico shared that in late 2019 into early 2020, Lorenzo went abroad for treatment as he was diagnosed with Kaposi Sarcoma in his leg. The cancer caused him to stop playing football.

Lorenzo DeShong was the father of two boys, aged 8 and 6 years and Rico said he is concerned about his young nephews who are asking their mother about the whereabouts of their dad.

Rico described his brother

as an outgoing person who was loved by his community and who never had disagreements with anyone. The slain man was the manager of the Sharpes FC football team.

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