‘A burden on mi head’ - Sister of Spring Village shooting victim regrets inviting her to football match

Screams of anguish pierced the air yesterday as Sue-Ann Ebanks, sister of Sasha-Gay 'Tamara' Ebanks, who was killed in a drive-by shooting on Sunday in Spring Village, Old Harbour, St Catherine, wept uncontrollably.

Surrounded by other grieving loved ones and members of the security, Sue-Ann said she regretted coercing her sibling to attend the six-a-side football competition at the Jamaica Broilers playing field.

Tamara was one of three persons killed in the gun attack. Six others were left nursing gunshot wounds.

"Mi kill mi sister fi come a match, oh Fada. Mi sister woulda up har yard. How mi a guh live with this? Mi hasten Tamara fi even bathe, mi say, 'Tamara, hurry up or mi a guh lock yuh up inna di house because match nah go miss mi, suh hurry up'. Mi hurry mi sister fi go get him death. How mi a guh get over dis?" she wailed.

Sasha-Gay, who worked at Jamaica Broilers, was not a fan of football but agreed to accompany her sister to the game. The 36-year-old old never made it back home.

"Mi can't go a work without Tamara, mi can't dweet. How mi a go funeral fi Tamara? Mi nuh wah bury mi sista. Lawd, come down come help us because we can't take it. It come in like mi have a burden on mi head. Tamara don't even go to Old Harbour by herself, and now she alone deh down a morgue wrapped up inna white sheet," she cried.

Yesterday, a day after the deadly rampage, two of Ebanks' relatives had to be rushed to hospital by the police after they collapsed. The extremely sad and emotional atmosphere was too much of one female cop who was among those providing counselling support to the family. She broke down in tears. Clinging to one of her colleagues for support, the officer was then led into one of the police service vehicles where she was consoled.