One woman falls amidst hail of bullets

Back in the old capital, in addition to the weekend murders, there were several shooting incidents. One of the most senseless occurred at a house on Rivero Street at ten-fifty p.m.  The occupants include about a dozen children that would normally be in the yard.  Most of them, however, were asleep when a man dressed in a black T-Shirt and a short pants rode up to the house and shot at least sixteen times at Tania Matura.  According to the sister in law of the victim, who wished to speak off-camera, Matura is lucky to be alive.

Voice of: Sister-in-Law of Shooting Victim

“I hear the lot of bullet and so I run from weh part I deh and I seh ih sound like the area weh part we live. So I hurry come pan di scene—come dah my house fi see weh happen. Upon coming, I see Tania Matura with gunshot wounds. She di tell me fi hurry help ahn go dah hospital.”

Jose Sanchez

“And how many shots were there that she received?”

Voice of: Sister-in-Law

“Well since, when we reached dah hospital, dah four gun hole we see pan ih hand, but at the meantime when ih mi deh at the time, we couldn’t see nothing weh so much blood. But now in get ina ih two foot deh, and ih hand. One weh come through the back look like ih come through the hand and pan ih two foot deh he get some bullet hole in. One all ina ih heel, one pan eh leg, way up ina ih leg, one inna the muscle part inna ih back. Two gunshot deh inna two foot—one foot and one inna one.”

Jose Sanchez

“Does she have enemies or someone out there who really dislikes her?”

Voice of: Sister-in-Law

“Well all ah we dah this house yah, we noh know weself fi have no enemies with nobody. So ih shocking fi understand dah my house they come shoot. Cause every time, dah so many kids always deh yah. We have lotta small children, up to she have small children. But at least that night, I noh know if God mi seh fi mek we put all the kids to sleep that night. Thank God everybody mi deh the sleep because dah mussi kids bodies woulda deh out yah—more than dat. The amount a like sixteen bullets shot from weh police pick up from the street. So maybe dah mi children too mi wahn involve inna den deh. And how I see Tania Matura inna pain and deh bullet wound deh, if dah mi deh small kids, they mussi mi wahn dead cause I noh think they body mi wahn could handle they big gunshot deh. Because when u look on the fence you see the hole with the bullet shot.”

Jose Sanchez

“And the doctors they say she is going to recover?”

Voice of: Sister-in-Law

“Yeah, ih seh she ok. And thank God that none a di bullet noh touch ih bone and just come straight through ih flesh. And noh hurt ahn cause eh neva gone ina no theatre.”