Teen son stabbed to death: mom forgives suspect
He is forgiven.
This was the message from Nicole Lashley—the mother of 15-year-old Christian Lashley, who was fatally stabbed with a pocket knife while playing with friends in Enterprise on Sunday—to the teenager accused of being involved in his death.
The incident happened at the Chrissie Terrace Recreation Ground in Enterprise.
A 15-year-old boy has since been taken into custody and is assisting with enquiries.
A post-mortem was performed on Tuesday.
Officials are expected to consult the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions this week for instructions on what charges, if any, to lay against the suspect.
Nicole Lashley spoke with the Express yesterday and said she was still trying to come to terms with her son’s death. However, she said she had forgiven the suspect in the incident.
“I have to. Because holding on to hate or anger will not bring my son back. And that was the type of person he was. He never used to hold on to any hate or negative energy. And this is also a God-fearing household and the scripture says that you need to be merciful for God to extend his mercy onto you. So that boy is forgiven,” Nicole said.
She said she did not blame the family of the suspect, who turned himself in. “I’m a mother with a few children myself. I know how much one can try with a child, and they just don’t listen. I know how much they will take on the influence of other people over those at home.
“I’m not saying it’s right. But given the fact that (the suspect’s father) took his own son to the police station to surrender to the police, I can tell that he will stand for what is right.
“And it feels that he would have tried,” Nichole Lashley said.
She asked for the parents of the suspect to reach out to her mourning family.
“I don’t know. I just feel like I would like to hear them say sorry. Like I said, that boy is forgiven, and there are no words that will bring back my son. But something feels like I should hear that family say the words,” Nicole Lashley said.
“It hits me the most in the morning. When I wake up, I will still go by his door and knock on it to get him ready for school. I can’t help myself. It’s something I’m just trying to come to terms with. Because we are all hurting.
“His sister is hurting a lot because on the day he died, it was her 13th birthday. So it feels like on the day that I’m celebrating one life coming into the world, I now have to mourn another life exiting, and it is something truly heartbreaking,” Nicole Lashley said.
Another student stabbed
In an unrelated incident, another stabbing incident involving a student was reported yesterday.
The latest victim is a 14-year-old boy from Pepper Village, Fyzabad.
He is a Form Two student of Fyzabad Secondary School.
Police were told that around 2.40 p.m. on Monday, the teen had walked out of the school and was attempting to cross the Fyzabad Guapo Road, when he was confronted by a student he knows.
An argument ensued and the two exchanged blows.
During the fight, the other student pulled out a knife and stabbed the 14-year-old to the right side of his chest.
The victim ran from the scene.
He raised an alarm and was taken to the Fyzabad Health Facility by a maxi-taxi driver who was in the area at the time. An examination was done and the child’s right lung was punctured.
As a result, the victim was stabilised and transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital.
The police were notified and officers of the Southern Division responded. PC Robinson is continuing enquiries.
And on June 3, a disagreement between students, allegedly over the playing of gang music, led to a 15-year-old being stabbed multiple times at the Barataria North Secondary School.
The Form Three student was walking along the corridor near the Form One block on the third floor of the north building, when he observed a group of students listening to “gang music”, police said.
The teenager told the group they should not be listening to that type of music in the school.
However, this led to a confrontation between the 15-year-old and the group, which included a 14-year-old student.
Physical blows were exchanged between the victim and the 14-year-old, who then allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed the first boy several times about the body.
The injured teen then ran from the group and made his way to the ground floor, where he told teachers what happened.
He was then taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, where he was treated. His injuries were not said to be life-threatening and he was discharged.
The 14-year-old suspect, police were told, was also taken to the medical complex, where he was treated for minor injuries and subsequently discharged.
PC Joseph is continuing enquiries.