Canaan Heights gunshot victim relates horrifying ordeal

Imagine hanging out at your regular chill spot, having fun with friends, and without any warning, you have to be running and praying to God to save your life.

That is what Jane Black*, one of the six shooting victims in Friday night's assault on Canaan Heights, Clarendon, experienced.

Black, a mother of three, was shot in the leg. Two of the six persons who were attacked by the hoodlums did not survive. Winston 'Buju' Bent and Jerome 'Platinum' Ellis died of their injuries.

"You see the cup pan the car? A my cup. Di youth (Buju) call me. By time mi get up offa the car and seh mi a go over to him, mi see two man a come dung the road, but mi nuh know a who dem, so mi gwan do mi thing. Dem come up now, and by time mi fi reach a the drum fi go over (to the shop), dem reach over to the yout dem a the side and start beat the shot," Black related.

"By time dem start beat the shot, the girl dem weh did deh pan the car run affa di car. By time mi fi turn and run, one a the man dem tun roun and bus a shot inna my foot," she added.

Black said that stopping to nurse her wound was not her primary goal. She said that as the shots rang out, she saw persons running, and all she could think about was getting to safety.

She said that while running she fell, but she got up and continued because she was not sure whether she was being followed.

"When mi get it inna mi foot, mi see the crowd a go, and mi decide seh mi a go wid dem. Mi seh, 'Fada God, mi get shot, enuh, because mi feel it,' and mi seh mi nah tap, and mi run go up inna the lane. When mi run go up inna the lane, mi kin ova, and mi seh, 'Fada God, gi mi likkle more energy mek mi get up and can go someweh else so if dem a come mi nah go dead'," she said.

Black said that even though she had to run very far to safety, she is grateful to God that her injuries were not severe as the shot went through her leg without causing any major damage. However, due to the wound, Black has been forced to stay off her feet, thus denying the vendor an opportunity to earn well-needed funds to get her youngest child ready for the Easter school term, which starts next week.

*Name changed to protect identity.