‘I have forgiven her killer’ - Mother of Jamaican killed in the USA happy gangsters have been sent to prison

The mother of a United States-born Jamaican girl, who lost her life after being hit by a stray bullet five years ago, has forgiven her killers.

Shamoya McKenzie, a 13-year-old USA high school basketball star, was driving nearby in her mother's car when she was shot by gangsters trading bullets in Mount Vernon, on December 31, 2016.

On Tuesday, a judge sentenced Sincere Savoy, a 25-year-old member of the Goonies street gang, to 22 years in jail for her death.

In September 2021, David Hardy was sentenced to 31 years in prison for the murder of McKenzie and his participation in a 2012 shooting. Marquis Collier and Jermaine Hughley were each sentenced to 27 years in prison for their participation in the McKenzie murder and the affairs of the Goonies gang in 2021.

The child's mother, Nadine McKenzie, a Jamaica-born woman, said that justice has been served.

"The case was finally closed on Tuesday, a day before my birthday. Going to court was really hard, especially to see the person that shot her. One of the time one of them showed no remorse, but he had apologised after he was sentenced. He was remorseful," the mother said.

"It is very hard, but I have forgiven her killer. I know God has a great plan for me and I have to do so. It's hard but I really thank God for closure because a lot of times cases go unsolved," she added.

According to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, on the day of the shooting, Hardy, Collier, Hughley and Savoy attempted to murder a rival gang member in broad daylight by firing multiple shots at him. The rival gang member suffered gunshot wounds but survived. One of the bullets, however, missed the intended target and struck the head of 13-year-old McKenzie, who was in the front passenger seat of a passing car, which was being driven by her mother. Shamoya died as a result.

McKenzie said that they were on their way from basketball practice when the incident occurred.

"She was still in high school but she was a brilliant child, so she was playing for the high-school team for a year. I took her to buy a cell phone and a pair of sneakers. She said she wanted to stop at another sneakers place and I told her to let us go home, and that we could buy the other sneakers at a mall. If only I had just stop, probably she would have missed that bullet," McKenzie said.

She said that on the day of the incident, Shamoya asked to visit her great-grandmother in The Bronx and she obliged. It was the last time the family matriarch was seeing her.

"For some reason, her great-grandma was just hugging and kissing her. We left and we were on our way home. We were like about five minutes away from home and then and there the shoot-out happened. The guy who they were shooting after was shot twice and another shot came straight into my car and hit Shamoya in the head. I thought she was playing when I saw her came over on me. I said to her, 'Shamoya, stop the playing' and I heard she said 'Mommy', and blood just start fly out," McKenzie said.

"She was my only child," the mother said of her athletic 6ft 2 inches daughter.

"This girl was 13 years old, but her mental capacity was like that of a woman in her 20s. She was very smart and intelligent. She had just got a US$250,000 scholarship to go to the University of Connecticut. She was always smiling and liked to goof around. She was very ambitious," McKenzie said.

Shamoya's dream was to play professional basketball for the New York Liberty in the WNBA and to also represent the Jamaican women's team.

McKenzie was born in Manchester, Jamaica, but grew up in Kingston. She migrated to the United States in 1997. Shamoya's father, Byron Mckenzie, is a police sergeant in Jamaica.

Shamoya was accorded a state funeral in Mount Vernon. She also offered high praises to the Jamaican government which contributed US$6,000 towards the funeral. A foundation was also created and named in her honour.

"It is very hard for me as she was killed right next to me. Her death really took a toll on my family . We used to be a close-knit family and now it is so hard to gather at times. Christmas is not the same for us as we usually celebrate the holiday like we usually do in Jamaica. Now, most of us do it separately because of the hurt and pain that we go through with her death," she said.