Mom: No one to blame for son’s death
WHILE lamenting the death of her son by a bullet, an Arouca mother is holding no one responsible. "I cannot blame anyone for my son’s death," she said. "It was accidental." Wendy Ann Spencer, mother of teenager Andrew Welch alias "12," told Newsday that Welch, 18, an employee of Crystal Ltd, O’meara Road, Arima, was "play fighting" with a friend around 6.30 pm on Sunday evening a short distance from their home, when a gun went off shooting Welch on the left side of his face. He was rushed to the Arima District Medical Facility where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Another boy, aged, 17, who was playing with Welch, later disappeared when he heard the police were looking for him. "Andrew and that boy were close friends. As a matter of fact he was at the hospital with me," the teary-eyed Spencer said. Welch, the second of seven children, was the sole provider for his mother and her five younger children. "He was a good and ambitious boy, especially since he did not have a proper education. He took care of me, provided that his younger sister and four brothers could have gone to school, while planning to buy a piece of land to build a house," the mother said. Meanwhile, the relatives of the other boy are appealing with him to return home and give himself up before the situation gets worse. Family members told Newsday they already have a lawyer in place to escort the teen to the station. Investigations revealed that a gun was being kept for a friend, and the two boys were playing with it when it went off. The police have not found the gun or bullet which went through Welch’s head when he was shot. Autopsy results yesterday confirmed that Welch died from shock and haemorrhaging. Visiting the scene were ASP Badal, Insp Daniel, Sgt Hamilton, Cpl Badal, Baptiste and PC Weekes. Cpl Baptiste is investigating.
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"Mom: No one to blame for son’s death"