Relatives of the four men who were killed during Sunday’s mass shooting in Belmont have been urged not to let their grief, anger and loss propel them to seek revenge for their deaths.
Instead, Fr Matthew D’hereux urged them to find alternative ways to express their feelings.
He provided one medium yesterday as he delivered a Mass of Liturgy of Lamentation at the St Martin De Porres RC Church, Lange Street, Gonzales, to pray for the repose of their souls. Parishioners were handed pieces of paper and pencils and encouraged to write down just what they were feeling.
Grieving relatives of Jayden Reyes, 21; Peter Williams, 31; Kevin King, 33; and Johnathon Arjoon, 23, sat together as they held hands and offered words of comfort and solace to each other.
The four died following a shooting attack on June 2 that began at Lange Street, Gonzales, at the end of a friendly neighbourhood football match. While some of the victims initially survived the first attack, they were followed by the gunmen to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, where they were seeking treatment, and shot dead outside the A&E Department.
Yesterday, residents from the community, as well as friends and colleagues of the slain men who were present, took advantage of the priest’s call to express their innermost feelings, as they stepped forward and placed the bits of paper in a basket specially set up and flanked by two candles.
The parish priest later explained, “We need to own the feelings, recognise the feelings, and seek healing for it in and through our faith journey.”
Asked what feelings members of the community had expressed since the shooting, D’hereux said, “Some people have gone into silence as a way of coping.”
But he advised, “We can’t be silent. We have to express it in some way, whether therapeutically, whether through peace marches, whether prayer days.
“I am also hearing we can’t do it alone, we need God. We need one another.”
He said a multi-pronged approach was needed to address the continued killings, and with the growing advent of mass killings within his parish, D’hereux said, “We need the State. We need churches. We need the family. We need a number of organisations, including corporate T&T.”
On the issue of a $100,000 reward by the T&T Police Service (TTPS) for credible information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the suspects, the priest said, “I wouldn’t put it down to finance alone, I put it down to goodwill.”
He continued, “It has to be more than a financial reward because what happens when there are no financial rewards?
“We always need to solve crimes so we always need good will. We need goodwill capital as well for people to say crime is everybody’s business.”
Among those present yesterday were colleagues of Jayden Reyes who worked alongside him at the Republic Bank Call Centre.
In an internal memo to staff on June 4, Talent Acquisition and Workforce Planning, Group Human Resources, Paula Mottley-Emmanuel, wrote, “He was a respectable individual, treating everyone with kindness and integrity.”
She added, “Jayden’s legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of all who knew him. We will remember his ambitious spirit, his zest for life, and his unwavering dedication to his dreams and to helping others.”
Reyes’ mother, Alicia Reyes, confirmed her second son, who remains hospitalised after he was shot at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital as he assisted his brother, was extremely devastated by the death.
She admitted to Guardian Media, “He doesn’t really feel safe to come back out to the same community where this tragedy happened.”
Reyes’ father, Ancil Reyes, said the incident had robbed the community of one of the fun ways residents would build camaraderie and ensure togetherness.
