‘We have lost a champion and a soldier’

The Cornwall College football team and members of the school administration have been plunged into mourning following the death of 18-year-old Dane Buckley.

Buckley, a midfield player for Cornwall during last season's daCosta Cup football competition, died in the Falmouth Hospital in Trelawny where he was hospitalised for gunshot wounds. The student succumbed to his injuries early yesterday morning after battling for weeks.

In an interview with STAR Sports, Dr Dean Weatherly, head coach of Cornwall College, said they had lost a 'soldier' and one of their own.

"We have definitely lost a champion, we have definitely lost a soldier and one who was always in the trenches with us. The passing is just one that you can't really describe based on the family structure we have at Cornwall College," Weatherly told STAR Sports.

"It is an event that will stain us for a long time and we just have to use it as part of the learning process for the other boys around us to help guide them. We also have to support each other in this time of bereavement," he added.

According to reports, on Wednesday, May 1, an armed man fired shots hitting Buckley and three other persons at a shop in Blood Lane, Hendon Norwood in St James.

Andrew McDonald, 49, a tiler also known as Bobby, was in an argument with a man armed with a gun. The man left the area then came back and opened fire. McDonald died on the spot while the others were transported to hospital.

Principal of Cornwall College, Michael Ellis, was broken and still in disbelief when he spoke with STAR Sports yesterday.

"It really pains my heart to think of the level to which we have sunken as a society. We have really lost a young man with so much potential. A young man who has served our school and, by extension, his country with distinction. We are saddened by his passing. Currently, we are trying to absorb the shock. I should be in a better position to say more later," Ellis said.

Weatherly remembers the 18-year-old as a leader on the field.

"He always wanted to be in charge of the play. He is one who works very hard, loved to train and loved the game of football. It is not even about him being a good player, he was a part of the family unit irrespective of his talent or how good he was," Weatherly said..