SHE WAS only 10 years old when she died, but Stacey-Ann Clarke lived long enough to make an impression on her teachers and peers at the Seaview Gardens Primary School, St Andrew, as well as residents of the community where she lived.

Yesterday, several hundred people flowed into the Seventh-day Adventist church in the community to remember one of its bright sparks.

Parents overwhelmed

Stacey-Ann died on May 2 at the University Hospital of the West Indies, two days after she was hit in the neck by a gunman's bullet while buying soup at a shop in Seaview Gardens. The police say no arrest has been made.

Leon and Maxine Clarke, parents of the deceased girl, sat at the front of the packed church. Maxine Clarke was overwhelmed by the size of the congregation, which included Anthony Hylton, member of Parliament for Western St Andrew, where Seaview Gardens is located.

"The memories, the memories ... they not gonna leave," she said, sobbing. Stacey-Ann was the youngest of her four children; she was the only child for Leon Clarke, a 53-year-old mason.

Stacey-Ann was scheduled to sit the Grade Six Achievement Test in January. One week before her death, the impressive rugby player received an award from the Jamaica Rugby Association.

Elaine Jones, principal of Seaview Gardens Primary School, remembered Stacey-Ann as one of her best grade-five students.

A young leader

"She took part in so many different things; she was a leader in her own right," Jones said.

Seaview Gardens, an expanse of low-income homes, is located off Spanish Town Road. For several years, it has been affected by outbursts of gun violence.