President of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Bands Association, Mark Ayen, says he is deeply hurt by the killing of nine-year-old J’layna Armstrong, one of four people shot dead along Lady Young Road, Morvant, on Sunday night.
In a social media post on Monday, Ayen said the nation had failed the child, whom he described as bright, kind and full of life.
“I often come here to brag and boast about Trinidad and Tobago… but this morning, I can’t. Trinidad and Tobago, we have failed. We have failed little J’layna Armstrong,” he wrote.
Ayen said from the moment he met her, she stood out as a “junior queen” and had become like family through their shared mas camp community.
“A friend to my niece, an extension of our family. In the mas camp, our children become our own… and this loss cuts deep,” he said.
He lamented the continued loss of innocent lives, questioning how many more children must die before decisive action is taken.
“This violence is unacceptable. We didn’t just lose a child, we lost a future full of promise,” he added.
Ayen also appealed to those involved in crime to turn their lives around and “put down the guns,” urging them to protect the nation’s children.
Initial reports indicate that J’layna was seated in the back of a red Mitsubishi Lancer when gunmen opened fire on the vehicle around 7:45 p.m. near a Seventh-day Adventist church and a pedestrian walkover along Lady Young Road. All four occupants of the vehicle were killed.
