Shanice’s miracle

She was shot twice on the right arm and three times on the left foot with a shotgun.

Doctors have decided to let the bullets remain lodged in the child’s body because they feel attempts to remove the slugs may endanger little Shanice.

Yesterday, her mother, Lisa Grant, received good news from doctors at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) — that her daughter was "okay" to go home. However, the wounds will require dressing on a daily basis until they are healed.

Grant prepared a meal of stewed lentils, provision and rice for Yorke, and bought a piece of chicken which she fed her daughter at the surgical ward of the EWMSC. Grant said it is a miracle that her child is alive. She said she was disappointed by the crime situation in the country and what she described as "a lack of concern by the police to deal effectively with the crimewave."

Grant said that on Tuesday when her daughter and others were shot, the officers at the Pinto Road Police Post failed to respond quickly to the reports of shooting. She said if the police had responded when they were contacted, the gunman who murdered Aneisha Simon could have been apprehended.

She said she has no confidence in the authorities, and believes that the shootings and murder will not be solved.

The other children shot during the brazen shooting attack are Nicholas Caldon and Brandon O’Conner, 15, Sherlon John and Keon Mark, 14, and Natasha Mark, 13. They were expected to be discharged from hospital yesterday.

The captain of the Simple Song Panyard, Wendell Bowen, and his wife Peggy remain in critical condition at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

Northern Division police officers told Newsday they have received reports that the shooting may have been triggered by a robbery. Three Muslims reportedly robbed a man who followed them to the panyard.

The gunman pulled out a shotgun and started firing at the children without sparing a thought for their safety. No one has been arrested in that shooting attack.

An autopsy yesterday by Dr Hughvon des Vignes at the Forensic Science Centre revealed that Aneisha Simon, the 14-year-old schoolgirl shot dead outside the panyard, was shot seven times.

Seven pellets were removed from her body during the autopsy yesterday.

She was shot in the left side of her face and chest.

The dead girl’s father, Leslie Simon, said his daughter will be buried on Tuesday after a funeral service at the Mt Zion Church, Pinto Road, Arima.

He said the police have been tight-lipped about the murder of his daughter, but he intends to find out who killed Aneisha.

He said he would not be able to rest in peace until justice is served.

Acting Insp Johnny Abraham and Cpl Parks are heading the investigation.

Yesterday, the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA) issued a press release expressing "horror and shock" at the mindless attack on innocent children on Tuesday night.

The release criticised the slow response of the police and the ambulance after the attack, and added that it indicates the appalling state of affairs of the country’s protective and health services.

"The TTMA calls on the police to leave no stone unturned to ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous act are arrested and brought to justice swiftly," the release stated.