By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter IT HAS not been an easy road for seven-year-old David Tom, who lost his father to gun violence three years ago. His mother said the child, who was held with a home-made gun at school last Tuesday, has been traumatised since his father's tragic death.
"Sometimes when he hears gunshots, he becomes scared and asks, if he is going to die like his father," Mary Rowe, the boy's mother said.
According to her, the death of David's father has had a devastating impact on him. So much so, that he keeps on asking questions such as: "Mommy, am I going to see daddy again?
Reports are that his father was shot and killed in the Maxfield Avenue area of Kingston while he was putting up a dancehall poster.
Teachers and students at the Greenwich All Age School were stunned last Monday afternoon when the gun, with one live round, was found in David's school bag. It was another student who alerted the teachers and the police were called immediately.
"He cannot be charged because he is a child. But we are trying to establish where he got the gun from," said Superintendent Newton Amos of the Hunt's Bay Police Station.
Allegations are that the youngster initially denied knowing the gun was in his bag, but he later told the police that gunmen had killed his father and bigger boys at the school were abusing him physically.
Ivy Jarrett, principal of Greenwich All Age, told The Gleaner last week that they were not aware of any incident in which David was being abused by bigger boys.
"Even if this was so and he did not tell us, some other students would have brought it to our attention," said Miss Jarrett.
Pointing to the incident, the principal explains that the guidance counsellor at the school will be offering counselling to David, even if it meant going to his home to counsel him.
Superintendent Amos gave the assurance that he will be bringing in a member of the Chaplaincy Unit to assist in counselling the youngster. He said last year the police held three schoolboys with illegal guns.
"We are going to put this youngster (David) in a programme and see to it that he goes to church. We will also be visiting his home and find out more about his family," Superintendent Amos said.
According Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Ruth Doorbar, young David might have seen an older person with a gun and believed he should have one.
"Probably he saw that person as a role model and wanted to do exactly what that person was doing," she said. Dr. Doobar further stated that the child could still be going through a grieving process, since he might not have gotten proper counselling following his father's death.
(The names of the child and mother have been changed).
