Grandmother fears for life

When a 63-year-old woman is afraid to open her door at 7:30 pm you know that things have changed, and the demon of violence has been spreading its deadly wings.{{more}}

This was the case when SEARCHLIGHT visited Elmeta Stowe last Tuesday evening to get her reaction to the double blow that has hit her family – that is the shooting death of one grandson in Fair Hall and the shooting of another in Collins.

“I was afraid when I heard the calling. Next thing I open up my door and is bullet flying,” said Stowe as she explained her situation to SEARCHLIGHT.

On Friday, April 25th, her 25-year-old grandson Roderick Stowe was shot in Fair Hall, after an altercation with another man.

Roderick, who earlier in the day returned to state after spending some seven months in Barbados, was shot in his head and died on arrival at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.

Police sources indicate that a suspect has been identified and is aggressively being sought in connection to this murder.

At press time the man was still in hiding.

Meanwhile, at around 4:20am Saturday morning, Roderick’s brother Sanardie Richardson was sleeping in his Collins, Mesopotamia, house when someone fired several shots at him through a window.

He was shot three times about his body.

At press time he was still warded at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.

SEARCHLIGHT has been reliably informed that Richardson had earlier instructed his girlfriend not to open the door to anyone who comes asking for him.

His attacker did not need to call, it seems.

“It is rough. My pressure flying up to my head,” said Elmeta, who says that it is difficult to come to terms with what has happened to her grandsons.

“He just come back from Barbados and meet his death like that. Is best he didn’t come back,” she said of Roderick’s death.

Elmeta told SEARCHLIGHT that she was in Arnos Vale when she got news of the first shooting, and she in fact got wrong information that almost gave her an heart attack, she says.

“I was sleeping and the person called and said that my son got killed. That they went into KFC and shoot him. My heart nearly drop,” Elmeta said.

This son, Nigel, works at KFC downtown.

Alas, it wasn’t her son, but sadness and pain still gripped because her grandson was dead, and by day break the next day she was to learn that her other grandson was also a victim of a shooting attack.

“That is why whenever they go out, I can’t sleep. The world getting too violent, everything is gun and shooting,” she said.

“Too much guns!” she declared.

Elmita told SEARCHLIGHT that she didn’t know her grandson to be a person to interfere with people, but admitted that once crossed Roderick was known to get quite “riled up”.

Besides dealing with grief, Elmita said that she is scared for her life.

“They send message saying more to dead,” she said.

Police are continuing the investigations into the two matters, and police sources say that while it isn’t being ruled out, it is uncertain as to whether the two incidents are connected. Sergeant Archibald of the Calliaqua police is investigating Roderick’s death, while Corporal Messiah, of Mesopotamia Police station is investigating the other incident.