Deadly déjà vu for Clarendon family

On August 8, 2021, a family’s world was shattered when eight-year-old Xavier Phillips was shot dead as he sat on a grave watching a football match in York Town, Clarendon.

In a cruel twist of fate, the family was dealt a similar blow three years later – almost to the day – when another eight-year-old boy, this time Aiden Bartley, was gunned down in Cherry Tree Lane, Four Paths, on August 11.

Both cousins died leaving two siblings among those mourning their tragic deaths.

Aiden was among eight people killed at a birthday bingo party last month. At least nine others were injured in the two-location attack that Sunday night.

On Saturday, a heavy police and military presence at Aiden’s funeral at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Four Paths served as a poignant reminder of the circumstances surrounding his death.

Dressed in sombre blue, scores of relatives, friends and well-wishers gathered to pay their final respects to the child and support the family as the community tries to heal from the attack.

Aiden was a student at Four Paths Primary and Infant School.

His teacher, Michelle Irvin, fondly remembered him as a courteous and meticulous student. He was a polite child, who took immense pride in his appearance and cleanliness, demonstrating a keen sense of self-presentation and attention to detail, she told mourners.

“Man dapper, yuh know. Man come a school Monday to Friday like Monday morning. He was always clean and fresh, and he was aware of his responsibility because he would tell me, ‘Miss, mi nah go outside ‘cause mi nuh want them dirty up mi clothes,’ and this was something that was cultivated at home,” said Irvin.

The teacher also praised Aiden’s parents, particularly his mother, Andrea Burton, for their unwavering support and dedication to his education. She noted that Burton ensured Aiden’s assignments were always completed on time and his projects were of exceptional quality.

Eswich Dorway, the school’s guidance counsellor, struggled to contain his emotions as he reflected on the promising youngster. He lamented that the tragedy had robbed him of the opportunity to witness Aiden realise his dream of becoming a soldier, a potential that had shown such promise.

Aiden’s aunt, Nardica Phillips, also spoke of Aiden’s dream to become a soldier.

A faint smile temporarily graced her face as she remembered Aiden’s signature seriousness, a stoic demeanour he wore with effortless ease, leaving an indelible mark on those around him.

“He was very passionate about [his dream of] becoming a soldier in the future. Whenever he saw soldiers passing by, he would shout, ‘Soljie!’ They would wave and he’d wave back, and he’d say, ‘Yeah, man, ah my friend dat’,” Phillips recalled, evoking laughter from the congregants.

In his tribute, Sergeant Dean Clover, sub-officer of the police’s Area 3 Community Safety and Security Branch, appealed to parents to foster discipline and accountability in their children, warning that “those who committed the crime are children of others and as parents, we need to understand that if it continues, at some point, we are going to cry as well.”

Aiden would have celebrated his ninth birthday on Christmas Eve.

olivia.brown@gleanerjm.com