MONTEGO BAY, St James — Though the 2019 gruesome shooting death of his son Jordanion still haunts him to this day, Somerton resident Horace Hodges has made peace with the individual who pulled the trigger.

Despite this, the father still struggles daily with the continued senseless killings of innocent children across the island.

Young Jordanion, a former grade one student at the Somerton All-Age School, was being transported on a motorcycle from school by his then neighbour 27-year-old Kuwayne Hemmings in his St James community, when upon reaching home, they were attacked by armed men who sprayed bullets at them.

Jordanion received gunshot wounds to the head. He, along with Hemmings, died from the injuries sustained in the gun attack.

But with a heart filled with pain and hurt, the boy’s father strongly believes that his son was not the target of the shooting. With this thought in mind, Hodges told the Sunday Observer in a recent interview that he has found a little comfort in this life-changing experience.

“I don’t think anybody wanted to kill my son and I don’t think the guy who picked up my son from school knew that he would have gotten shot that day,” said Hodges.

Pointing out that his daughter was also being transported on the same motorcycle, Hodges reasoned that the killer pardoned the young girl but was unaware that Jordanion was sitting in front of Hemmings.

“My daughter said that she saw when the hand pushed past her with the gun, but my son was on the front of the bike, so they didn’t see him. They saw my daughter, but they didn’t want to shoot her, so they pushed the gun around her not knowing that my son was also there,” said the father.

“It was just corruption that caused this. Everything from the scamming come right back to this. But we can’t change it, so we just have to keep living and try to put that behind us. It is not that easy, but we are trying. Everybody is still shaken up,” Hodges added.

Jordanion’s killer, Hodges told the Sunday Observer, took away the family’s joy, as for the last three years they have struggled mentally and emotionally. However, the father tries to focus on the happy memories of the young son, noting that he was a jovial and loving boy.

“When he would go to school it’s like we would be dying to see him come from school. He just kept us happy, and everybody loved him wherever he would go. He was the best you can think about in the cut,” said Hodges.

“I just try to live with it because we can’t bring him back no matter what we try to do. If there was anything I could do to bring him back right now, just know that I would do it,” the father stated.

“All I can do is to leave the one who did it to time because if he doesn’t stop from doing the nonsense, one day it will catch up on him. Sometimes it runs through my mind that this guy who fired that gun, does this stress him some of the times? He saw me and my family cry, so does this bother him? I also wonder if he talks to God to change his ways.”

The frequent murder of young children across the country has become an overwhelming burden for Hodges since the loss of Jordanion, he told the Sunday Observer.

“Sometimes they say that it is when things happen and reach your doorstep that’s the time you feel it. That is true because since my son passed away [whenever] I hear about a child being murdered it feels like it is my son all over again. Mi feel it man…and nothing nah come out of it. The police just call it a day and leave it alone,” said Hodges.

“This is something that I wouldn’t even want my enemy to go through. You see if he was an older child who followed company and got himself in trouble, it probably wouldn’t hurt this much. But this was my six-year-old son who was a joy to the family. He was really smart, and everybody loved him,” the father added.

The lack of updates regarding the killing of his son is no surprise to Hodges. The man believes that Jamaican police do not work to protect the people of rural communities or lower economic backgrounds.

“The police are not doing a thing unless it is one of their colleagues or rich people. Also, a lot of people might have information about the case but it doesn’t make sense they even tell the police because they may even lose their lives. So, we just leave things to God because the police do nothing for us small people,” said Hodges.