It has been more than 12 weeks since 23-year-old Jalon “Lolo” Graham was gunned down in a brazen daytime attack on a residential road in Tobago, but no arrests have been made, no motive has been confirmed, and his heartbroken mother Quisianna Graham is refusing to stay silent until the full truth of her son’s killing comes to light.
Graham, a resident of Union Village who was an aspiring footballer and former pupil of both Whim Anglican Secondary School and Mason Hall Secondary School, was just hours away from starting a promising new job when he was killed on the evening of May 29. According to official police accounts, Graham and a friend had just picked up food from a local outlet and were walking along Old Whim Road, close to the area’s community centre, when an unidentified gunman crept up behind them and opened fire, striking Graham multiple times. First responders from the Emergency Health Services arrived at the scene within minutes, but the young man was pronounced dead immediately after the attack. He was laid to rest at Plymouth Cemetery weeks later.
In an exclusive interview with local outlet *Express* earlier this week, Quisianna Graham raised unsettling inconsistencies in the case details that have left her searching for answers. She points to several odd observations she made when she arrived at the scene moments after getting the news of her son’s shooting, after rushing from her home to see what had happened. When she got there, she found Graham’s pockets turned inside out, his smartphone stolen by the attacker – but the takeout food he had been holding was still placed neatly on a nearby park bench. “If I am walking and I get shot in the back, would not my food be thrown on the ground and scattered away?” she asked, questioning the official narrative of the attack. Graham also told reporters that she immediately attempted to administer CPR to her son when she arrived, but was unable to save him, an experience she described as permanently traumatic. “It’s very hurtful to go in the morgue and see your child sewn up, it’s a hurtful experience that will never go away,” she said.
The grieving mother pushed back hard against any unconfirmed speculation that her son was involved in gang activity or criminal behavior, noting that Jalon had never been arrested, never appeared in court, and had no known ties to local gangs. She acknowledged that like many young people, Jalon had posed for playful photos that appeared to show him with a gun, but argued that this did not make him a dangerous person. Turning to other parents in the community who may be hiding information about the killing, she called out those who protect children who have committed violent acts out of fear they will face legal consequences. “It is the same way allyuh know allyuh child commit murder and hush allyuh mouth because allyuh don’t want allyuh child to go in jail,” she said.
Quisianna Graham told reporters she believes a critical confrontation that happened the Friday before her son’s murder holds the key to solving the case, and is calling on every witness or person with any information about what led to the shooting to come forward to law enforcement. She described Jalon as a well-mannered young man who was on the cusp of building a stable life for himself: he was days away from his first day at a new job, and was already planning to invest in a sheep farming business to build long-term prosperity. “He was well-mannered and coming into a good young man, now looking to buy sheep and prosper a bit. And allyuh just come and take this boy life with no explanation,” she said. “I would not stay silent about it and I am pushing for answers.”
When reached for comment by the *Saturday Express*, Assistant Commissioner of Police Rishi Singh confirmed that the investigation into Graham’s murder remains open and active, with officers continuing to follow leads and interview witnesses in the case.