Mark Beckford, Staff Reporter

These students sadly reflect on their classmate whose social studies paper sits on a desk. The students' classmate was shot during the neck in a cross-fire and is in hospital in serious condition. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

A ten-year-old girl who attends the Seaview Gardens Primary School should have been laughing and frolicking with her friends yesterday. Instead, she was battling for survival on a life-support machine in hospital, after being hit by a bullet, which threatens to leave her crippled for the rest of her life.

On Saturday, about 6:30 p.m., the young girl went to a shop in Seaview Gardens to purchase some goods. On leaving the building, she was hit by a bullet, which entered her neck, went through her back and exited through her shoulder. Since then, she has been fighting for her life and her bright future, which has been jeopardised by warring thugs.

At school yesterday, one of her friends wished the injured student was with her.

"In grade two, when I first started the school and I didn't know anybody, she was the first person to sit beside me and she talked to me and she welcomed me to our school," she said. "She is a kind friend, she is intelligent, she has a lot of potential and she is willing to do anything for you. I would like to tell the gunmen to stop the violence and to please stop killing the innocent people."

She did well in all areas

Teacher Keisha Heslop said the injured student was a good all-rounder: "She was good academically and athletically. She participated in almost everything at school. She did well in all areas. It was up to Friday I was telling her, 'Please, when you are picking for your schools, make sure you pick for Ardenne or Wolmer's'."

The student is to sit the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) next year.

The community in Seaview Gardens where the student was shot is one of many areas in the St Andrew South police division where criminal warfare threatens to claim lives.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in charge of crime in the division, Michael Phipps, told The Gleaner yesterday that criminal warfare in the community was stretching thin the resources available to him.

"Over the past month and a half, there have been renewed gang activities and inter-gang activities which have resulted in a number of killings. We would like to saturate the areas on a 24-hour basis, but we are operating with limited resources," he said.

"We have to be juggling resources as when we pour resources into one area and it gets calm, and when we pull those men, the area flares up, but we are trying our best."

DSP Phipps is calling for other agencies to play their role in filling social gaps in communities.

The mother of the injured student is hoping that all parties play their part to bring peace to her community.

"I just want my child to be better and I want the Government to make crime a priority. They need to get these criminals off the road because they cannot be hurting our future generation."

mark.beckford@gleanerjm.com

St Andrew South communities and gangs

Persons with information that can help the police please callDSP Michael Phipps at 779-6189.