The family and friends of 15-year-old Shinika Riley Jean Phillip say they are grappling with deep sadness and anger following her tragic death.
They say the incident has shaken them to the core.
The teenager, a George Charles Boulevard, Marchand resident, was gunned down at about 7:30 pm on Wednesday at La Coudou, Castries.
Her friends expressed their devastation, highlighting the joy she brought to their lives.
“She was a good friend to us,” one close friend said. “When we weren’t happy, she was always there to make us smile. It’s sad to see her go like this.”
Another friend recounted hearing gunshots and rushing to the scene, where he found Riley lying on the ground, lifeless. “A man didn’t have to kill a girl. She just turned 15. It shows that people today have no mercy,” he lamented.
The mood in the community on Thursday morning was palpable with grief and anger.
Residents are struggling to understand how such violence could claim the life of a young girl, whom they described as vibrant and wanting to change her life around.
“The community is mad. She was one of us,” another friend noted. “We need to come together and put down our guns.”
A close family member shared her heartache, expressing a feeling of failure from the community.
“The village that is supposed to raise a child failed Riley. People saw her taking the wrong path and turned a blind eye,” the family member asserted. “She was a great child who just lost her way.”
As the community mourns, there is a collective call for change. Many are urging young people to abandon violence and seek better paths.
“It’s time for us to come together and try to stop this,” one friend stated. “We have to work on bigger things and better things for our community.”
According to police data, Riley’s death pushed Saint Lucia’s homicide toll to 66 so far in 2024.
Smh
@SLT. Please try La Cour Doux.
To paraphrase, she wanted to change her life around! This implies that she was involved in something which can only be described as negative, 15 is the usual age of form 4 secondary school students, a lit of questions arise here! Was the attending school? Where were the parents and family, (not saying that they were culpable), and more importantly, what was she involved in, at such an early age, that she wanted to, as some who knew her put it, (to change her life around).
Where exactly in Castries is La Coudou, somebody please help me!
Anonymous October 17, 2024 At 2:04 pm
That area right after the Streams of Power church along Waterworks Road. Got its name, “The Sweet Yard” from the amount of vice happening in that area. Ironically there are several churches a stone’s from from that place.
Sosad
Oh my god , only 15 years so where is the father of that young teen where is her mother ..15 years and wanted to turn her life around . Her parents should be arrested ….
She shouldnt have been setting up young men for her Goons to Rob, what goes around comes around.
I don’t mean no harm – trying to understand and i quote:
“The community is mad. She was one of us,” another friend noted. “We need to come together and put down our guns.”
PUT DOWN OUR GUNS – perhaps it’s a typo – just saying.
Many times we hear calls for the parents and that they should be held responsible for the actions of their children, let me say here that parents are not always responsible for the way their children turn out to be, children have a mind of their own, plus there are ‘friends’, cell phones, internet! We cannot always hold the parents responsible.
Good seed bad seed she someone’s child. That’s an unbearable heartache. Don’t know her and what she was doing out there, that she was trying to change her life at only 15 yrs old. As a mom I see her as a misguided baby trying to fit in, just happen to be in the wrong way. Teenage years are extremely difficult and confusing for some especially if there is no support. RIP PRINCESS CAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOU WERE REGARDLESS OF YOUR STRUGGLES
God bless her and family 🙏🏿
People saw her taking the wrong path and turned a blind eye, said a family member…..
This has to be hard on the parents.
Some are posting here that the parents should bare some of the blame and that the child may have been wayward.
The reality is that in this day it is difficult to keep children away from the vice and negative ills so predominant in our society.
Citizens and children see the corruption in broad daylight exhibited by certain politicians in Parliament. They know of the background and history of certain prominent politicians and this feeds down into the rest of society.
There is no attempt made by the authorities to curb bad and uncivilised behaviour.
Even a report says there is a corruption vibe in this country where everything goes.
So it is hard to expect bad behaviour to stay away from young people when the ruling political elite politicians are so obviously gaming the system for their pockets and doing nothing to set an example for the youth.
The only way these murders will not spread is if we have leaders really to do something about crime, corruption, bad public behaviour and also uphold laws.
“We need to come together to put down OUR guns?”
Just wow! Just implying that this is no random act!
awa wii awa wiiii…these girls nowadays i eh no… i eh no i eh no…….they need to take life serious….masiay young girls get a job make url money……
First my condolences to the family of the young lady. But I wonder, could this have been prevented? The role of a parent is a serious one. You are to nurture your offspring, guide them and instill values and morals. Crime is on the rise as we parents are failing to be parents. No politician can stop crime it is us the parents who must perform our duties and not leave the kids to interpret or learn from the internet or tv. We allow the misguided actions of foreign culture to influence and raise our kids. Before adults could correct errant behaviour of children, but today I dare you to correct a neighbours child. You would be rewarded with curse words from both parent and child. Or maybe even a good beat up. My suggestion is that careful thought is given by all before becoming parents and that the parents begin to perform their duties.
So, so sad to see how this young life was taken away. Why didn’t the murderer show mercy on her? She was a baby still. Hope the perpetrator s are caught and brought to justice.May her soul rest in peace.
St.lucia is a beautiful Island
The most striking comment to me in this report is, “ people saw her taking the wrong path and turned a blind eye” by a family member. My question to this person is what did you do to bring her back on the right path. The horses have bolted, don’t close the gate now.
I will tell you her situation is the sad reality of about 25% of our secondary school students in St Lucia today and like the relative said sadly most of us are casting a blind eye. I know for a fact that many if not all our secondary schools are trying desperately with intervention strategies to help these young folks but when they leave the confines of the school walls it’s back to reality. The gangs out there are more attractive to them and they are being recruited at earlier ages than before. To solve this problem the police need to dismantle these gangs at their core.
Lastly I noticed that every time a young person loses their life to such, the buzz phrase is that they were trying to change their lives around. This is really sad because it is telling us that when you get involved in such a life style it is for life. Once you try to get out you become a victim.
WHEN A 15 YEAR OLD GIRL GETS GUNNED DOWN ITS MORE LIKELY SHE ANGERED SOMEONE, QUESTION IS WHAT HAVE SHE DONE? LOTS OF TODAYS FEMALES ARE SKETELLS SETTING UP MAN TO BE ROBBED.
No matter what she did, the fact remains that she was just 15 years old, and did not deserve to die. Where is your empathy Lucians – always, criticizing and judging. Did she receive the support and guidance she obviously needed? A terrible set of circumstances and to be shot dead for what exactly?!
@Perspective This is the issue with our society no one has compassion or empathy anymore. I have seen so many comments where people are rejoicing over the death of this child. It is so sad because she’s a child. Not condoning whatever she may have done but does that warrant her death. No one knows the reason with so much crime in slu it could of been something she saw and fear of her speaking up, maybe something she did, maybe Peter pay for Paul but they’re all forgetting she was a child.
Sometimes in order to save some you literally have to separate them from friends, community and sometimes even family. By this I mean they have to literally leave island and travel elsewhere to have a fresh start and a new beginning.
What is a little disturbing to me is the statement in the article
“The community is mad. She was one of us,” another friend noted. “We need to come together and put down our guns.”
the statement literally means they have guns and that is troubling.
No sympathy here. Time fools realise that only 1 or 2 per cent make it out of a life of crime unscathed. Hospital, cemetery or jail………
@anonymous children do not wear tattoos children do not wear such outfits and the list goes on…..she was constantly warned by her friends aka the people who loved her to get out of the criminal life…..as tupac said the blacker the berry the sweeter the jus….now apply that lyric…
***the sweeter the juice
Blah blah blah at fifteen ??? A dismal failure of parenting……….don’t cry a river THEY FAILED HER NOT THE COMMUNITY . She just turn fifteen so at what age was she embroiled in crime since when ??? Those parents should be arrested for child neglect.
When you join a gang you can’t get out. the only way to get out is death
ST.LUCIA NEEDS DEATH PENALTY
Condolences to the young ladies family may God give them strength in this difficult times.
By the where is our well known advocate who is suppose to be advocating for the rights of children and women,not a word not a word biggest hypocrite on island.
Of all that I’vd read above, I’ve not heard of the ‘Devine intervention’ I’ve heard of none intervention of family, but what that of a Devine Lord? do you mean, there is no Church Life (life of GOD ALMIGHTY) in the family? at the age of 15yrs is what has shocked you? well what has shocked me is the lack of a life of Godliness, a Church membership; say a Prayer every morning before leaving home.