Brother of Murdered Minor Makes Impassioned Plea to His Killers
Joel Panting
Twenty-one-year-old Joel Panting is mourning the loss of his younger sibling and has come forward seeking public assistance to cover his funeral expenses. As we reported, fifteen-year-old Nigel Ferguson lost his life to gang violence on Sunday evening, when he was taken to an abandoned property on Hunters Lane and stabbed to death. Ferguson was described as someone with special needs and, notwithstanding the efforts made by his family to deter him from life in the streets, the teenager got involved in gang activity. Earlier today, his older brother made an emotional plea to Nigel’s killers in the wake of the deadly incident.
Joel Panting, Brother of Deceased
“All I could seh right now, I just feel numb. Ih hurt, I shed all di tears I could shed fi right now, but I can’t get rid ah da pain, da pain wahn always be forever, so I just have to get through it and just push through. That’s it.”
Nigel Ferguson
Isani Cayetano
“What could have been done differently to try to save your younger brother from such a violent fate?”
Joel Panting
“Fi me, personally, da just di community in general because at one point everybody had this saying that ih tek wahn community fi raise wah child. The politicians dehn, the police dehn, street life and just people in general. Everybody supposed to mi di look out fi one another but that noh di happen noh more, including the parents too. Di parents tried, but only soh much yoh could do without di community, only so much.”
Isani Cayetano
“Your brother was fifteen years old. He was described as a special needs child. I understand that he attended Stella Maris School for a while and he discontinued, but along the path he got involved with gangs. What could have been done? What perhaps you could have done or anyone else who would have been aware of the situation do to try to steer him in a different direction?”
Joel Panting
“Well, as far as I know, my ma tried to get help from government but da mi her deal soh I noh really know how that work out. I cyant really speak pan that, but like weh ah tell yoh just now, fi me da just the community in general. Ih hurt, dat da all I could seh, ih hurt. All di things I mi wahn do fi my lee bredda, I can’t do now. All di things I mi wahn be fi my lee bredda I can’t be now. Ih hurt, and ih hurt we, gangstas, killas. Unu tell me now, unu life get betta? Unu lifestyle change? Unu get outta poverty? Ih solve all ah unu problem? Unu tell me. Ih mi worth it?”
Police are in the process of investigating the homicide. Meanwhile, Panting is appealing to anyone will to assist financially to kindly donate funds by contact him at phone number 607-1255. Panting says the cost of the burial is estimated at five thousand dollars.
