By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was trying to use his body to shield young children from a hail of bullets when he was killed in Kemp Road on Tuesday.

Eric Smith, 24, and two others were struck when gunmen opened fire shortly before 3pm in the area of St James Road and Kemp Road. One man died at the scene. Smith later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital, while a 71-year-old suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Relatives said Smith was an innocent bystander who was trying to protect children, including his two-year-old nephew.

“The brother that came behind him has a son living there, so he was actually shielding the children in the yard. That’s how he got killed,” Smith's aunt, Anishka Martin said.

Police said several men were gathered behind a house when three masked gunmen pulled up in a white Japanese vehicle and began firing. As the shooters retreated, they continued spraying bullets at two men walking nearby. Smith was hit in the head; another victim was struck in the upper body.

A video of the aftermath quickly spread online, showing chaos as relatives screamed, police rushed to regain control, and an elderly man clutched his bloodied arm. One woman recording the scene cried, “somebody just got kill”, while another said she had to run for her life.

Smith’s mother, Erica Smith, said she had seen her son only moments earlier when he went to bathe. Later that day, she removed his clothing from the bathroom — a painful reminder of his sudden death.

Lying in bed with her two grandsons when the gunfire broke out, she said she did not hear the shots because she was wearing headphones until her four-year-old grandson alerted her. She later realised her son was among the victims after hearing someone shout his nickname, “Bina.”

“That was it, gone. He leave me just like that,” she said.

Family members had rushed Smith to the hospital themselves. At first, he did not realise he had been shot but complained of pain in his head. Relatives described him as quiet, respectful, and uninvolved in crime. He had no children and worked alongside a relative who is an electrician.

“They were innocent,” Ms Martin said, calling for justice for her nephew and the other victims.

A source told The Tribune police believe the gunmen missed their intended targets — brothers of a slain gang leader — and instead hit innocent men.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe urged people who know those carrying guns or involved in crime to contact police, warning that otherwise they too could become victims of crossfire.

Among the wounded was a 71-year-old man who had accompanied his friend — the 54-year-old victim identified by locals as “Meech” — to visit his daughter. He recalled the terrifying barrage of gunfire, saying a bullet had him “dancing” as it tore through his body.

He said he looked to check on his companion, but at some point, the man lost consciousness.