A quiet mother of four from St James, Trinidad, has become the latest victim of the country’s escalating gun violence crisis, gunned down in a seemingly random attack that has left her family shattered and pleading for urgent action to curb rampant violent crime.
Forty-nine-year-old Mirissia Weekes, who lived with a hearing impairment, was shot in the head while walking home along Dundonald Hill on Friday afternoon, according to official police reports and family accounts. A nearby neighbor rushed the wounded woman to the local St James Medical Complex immediately after the shooting, but she was soon transferred to Port of Spain General Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries just before 6 p.m.
In an emotional, candid interview with media, an unnamed close relative of Weekes described the killing as a pointless, senseless tragedy that has left the entire family reeling with shock. “She never interfered with anybody. She was such a quiet person,” the relative shared, describing the family’s ongoing disbelief at the loss. “I can’t even wrap my head around it because everybody here is in shock. Her four children still can’t process what happened.”
The relative detailed what witnesses have told the family about the scene: Weekes was found face-down in a pool of blood on a small off-pathway near Fort Dundonald Villas, a position that indicates she was likely killed mid-journey as she returned to her home. “She did not deserve to die like that,” the relative said, issuing a desperate plea to both community members and authorities to address the worsening violence tearing through communities across the nation.
“Too many families in this country are losing innocent relatives, and most of the time it is just senseless killing,” she said. “This gun violence needs to be stopped. They need to stop playing games with people’s lives. Crime is out of control, and it feels like nobody realizes how bad it has gotten.” She called on all stakeholders to come together to negotiate and implement concrete solutions to prevent more innocent people from being cut down by gun violence.
Law enforcement officials confirmed that responding officers recovered six spent 9mm shell casings and five live rounds of ammunition from the crime scene after being called to reports of an active shooting shortly before Weekes’ death. Preliminary investigations into the attack indicate the shooter fired randomly toward ordinary passers-by walking along the route, authorities said. A suspect has already been taken into police custody for questioning in connection with the killing.
For Weekes’ grieving family, the next step is an autopsy scheduled for this week, and they are holding out hope that the ongoing police investigation will deliver full accountability and justice for the slain mother.