A grief-stricken father calls for harsher criminal punishment to be imposed on reckless shooters and an end to gun violence were echoed nationally yesterday as Barbadians reacted to the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Shawnathon Chase.
He was one of several people watching a netball game at a hardcourt in Silver Hill, Christ Church, around 7:48 p.m. on Tuesday when two individuals appeared from behind the nearby housing units and sprayed bullets.
Shawnathon, a Lodge School student, was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) where he was pronounced dead.
Despite his pain, Shawnathon’s father Shawn Chase bravely spoke to the media yesterday morning and recalled the final time he heard his only son speak.
“I saw him yesterday evening before he left here. He was home all the time and he tell me he going and cool out by the guys a little bit. I told him, ‘Go ahead and come back’.”
A few hours later, he got the news no parent wants to hear.
“I was in the kitchen cooking and I heard the gunshots. I was hoping that nobody get shoot,” Chase said.
The father recalled how he and other relatives found out Shawnathon had become a victim of gun violence.
“His brother went outside and somebody told him, ‘You brother, brother get shot’. I heard him run back and say, ‘Shawnathon get shoot!’ I had to turn off the stove and run and go down there,” he said.
Although they feared the worst, they were hoping for the best, after Shawnathon was rushed to the QEH.
“When they rushed him to emergency surgery, they talked to us. He looked really bad and [they said] to pray for the best. I was hoping and praying. We waited and waited but they couldn’t save him,” Chase said.
12th homicide
Shawnathon’s death was recorded as the 12th homicide for 2025.
“Words can’t really explain how I feel now. It really got me mash up. He was very close to me. I am so sorry he is gone. At 13 years old, they cut his life,” his father said.
He described his son as an intelligent, disciplined, well-liked, happy and playful teenager who loved bikes and stayed out of trouble.
“Everybody in the area liked him. He was very happy and playful. He wanted a motorcycle,” he said, as he fought back tears.
The DAILY NATION understands that Shawnathon’s mother, who travelled to attend a funeral, was expected to return to the country as soon as possible.
Chase denounced the gun violence and called for harsher penalties which he said he had been doing even before his son’s death.
“My partner at work and I talk about this all the time. The punishment too soft. I would like these youngsters that walking ’bout shooting up the place to cut it out.
“When they get hold, the next couple of months they get released. A lot of these guys are young, they’re not old like me. Something needs to be done,” he lamented.
As news of the incident spread, many Barbadians on social media expressed their disgust at the incident.
Several upset Silver Hill residents, including some who saw Shawnathon after he was shot, echoed those sentiments.
One resident, who did not want to be identified, said: “I hear the shots, then the little boy run and come to me. When I looked at him he was bleeding,” he said.
“He comes to my shop every morning and wait for the bus. He doesn’t even lime but he would speak. When the Lodge bus come down on evening, he does go home,” he said. (TG)
