SOURCE: POINTE XPRESS, Police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department descended on the Princess Margaret School yesterday in what is believed to be a probe into the recent gang related attacks on several school children.
The police have been criticised for their seemingly slow response to the slew of violent attacks which began this year involving teenagers from several secondary schools based mainly in St. John’s.
Students who attend the Ottos Comprehensive School, Princess Margaret School and Antigua Grammar School have all been implicated in the vicious, ambush style assaults.
Photographs, widely circulated by the members of the 2Drilly gang and its affiliate, the 2Drilly girls, show children in school uniform issuing threats to targets who are also juveniles.
Pointe FM has learned while innocent students are now being pulled into the fray, the conflict appears to exist between the 2Drilly gang and rivals 700 Bones.
On Monday in an interview with another media house, the police said they were investigating yet another attack on a male minor who was hacked several times with a machete and had to be rushed to the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre for treatment.
The attacks are particularly alarming because of the use of weapons. At least three of the school attacks have involved the use of machetes.
Earlier this year, a teen almost lost a finger when he attempted to defend himself from the attack.
A gang of boys chased a male student through YMCA hurling stones and other missiles.
Over the weekend, the violence made its way to a local movie theatre when a machete wielding teen attacked another while other gang members hurled bottles.
Most concerning to many who question the police force’s slowness to act, is the fact that the ring leaders and members of the 2Drilly unit and their female affiliates are active on social media and often share disturbing images featuring themselves posing with various weapons or issuing threats to their next targets along with their victim’s images making them vulnerable, sitting duck targets.
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Young and impressionable…….
Parents need to be more positively involved in their children’s lives…
It starts with us!
Drill is a type of trap music—a popular and influential Southern hip-hop genre characterized by dark, raw electronic beats and aggressive, provocative lyrics involving drugs and crime—that originated in Chicago, Illinois, in the 2010s. Some key early rappers of the drill scene are Pacman, King Louie, Chief Keef and Lil Durk….SMH..2Drilly huh….These children are heavily influenced by social media, war dancehall and gangsta rap music..
Music does not have to do with what we do, its the way you teach your children whats wrong and right. It all starts at home, so do not involve social media nor music in what they do, blame parents for not diciplining their children.
so wa happen to movies?
Movies don’t have the real life effect that rap music does….These children see movies as jus actors doing their thing….When King Von (rapper) sees Quando Rondo (rapper) and gets into a fight then Quando Rondo’s friend Fatally shoots King Von and the video is circulating on social media that’s the real life stuff these children enjoy soaking up..
I agree with u 100% that it starts at home with the parents but u gots to be out ur mind thinking music has nothing to do with it…When ever you have time take a listen to a now deceased but still heavily influential rapper called King Von…Just try to listen to his beautiful lyrics….Best believe 2Drilly and many youngsters are trying their very best to be like King Von…Yes we all had fav music and artist whe liked growing up but now these rappers especially are trying hard to prove to these youngsters that their lyrics are not fiction……These kids are not jus listening to the music and enjoying it they wanna live like King Von, Squash and pop a molly pill (drugs) like Skeng..They wanna do Drills meaning Drill holes (gun shots)in my “opps” (opposition/enemy) and hence where the Drill in 2Drilly gang came from…So u can keep believing music has nothing to do with it.
We need to bring back the cat09 and punish these children who believ they are above the law. What is happening in this country were lawlessness is going unpunished and is becoming the acceptable norm. Something must be done. These brazen attacks, lack of penalties and action is unacceptable …. mec me teck up one biscuit from epicurean n police reach a ma yard for me but one 14 year old child is being allowed to Rome and mame other children and implicate other innocent children……wa a gwarn ya……get your priorities straight officers or future a gu down the drain
Young dunces without any ambitions turned trouble makers .Lock them away useless members of society
Parents first, know who are your children’s friends, who they associate with and the parents of those children. Acquaint yourselves with what your children are being taken influenced by, see what social platforms they use and what is being promulgated therein. Take the time to talk to your children and to listen to them and when an issue that is negative begins to rear it’s head to nip it in the bud.
Friends of your children are a source of information; talk to them cordially, engage them in conversation, you may be the source of helping to turn around a child going rogue by showing them different choices. If the friends are too far gone and their parents are unreachable then put your feet down and stop your child’s association with that friend, showing your child the reasons for so doing.
Teachers second, children spend a large swatch of their time during the day in school or on the school compound. When you see or hear something that is not right report it. Whether the reporting be to the headmaster/mistress, the parents of the children involved, the police, if the situation warrants that kind of intervention.
Neighbours, you are the eyes and ears of the parents when they cannot be around, report the kinds of conversation you hear the children engaging in, talk to the children themselves, sometimes a kind neighbours would more easily reach a child than even the child’s parents.
Wider society…..too many times I hear adults bemoaning the actions and speech of children but say and do nothing to correct the child. That is giving tacit approval. When we hear children, especially in their school uniforms being outrageously rude or obscene, call them out on it. Yes, we will receive push back, especially if we do not know who their parents are but we can identify them by their uniforms, we have cell phones, take pictures…..not for dissemination on social media but to take to the school so that the children can be identified and the parents contacted so that they are made aware of how their children are acting behind their backs. The school can enact codes for children to follow when wearing their uniforms and thereby representing the school.
Civic pride should be taught as a part of the upbringing.
I have purposely left out the church as most children and parents, if truth be told, do not go to these institutions. But for those that do, pray earnestly for troubled youths.
No parent should have to worry about their child’s safety when they send them to school.
Finally, law enforcement….and by law enforcement I am speaking to all arms, not just the first responders, the police. When a crime has been committed let the law be given it’s effect even when employing temperance for the youth and first time offenders. The effect of breaking the law must be felt to deter that child from continuing down that path.
Please, let us all do our part so that by Each Endeavouring we can All Achieve a better Nation.
Boot camp yeah we need a proper boot camp setup for these kids
Parents gotta find a way to get involved. No wrong answers. Do something, just be present
So True
I am really starting to believe most parents dont know what their children are really listening to…They hear the music and think jus a bunch of crap…maybe to you but not to ur child who can clearly understand the slangs and the violence in the lyrics….Most rappers I listened to growing up I never knew for sure of they were really gangsters and I am sure alot fo people of my generations will agree. We jus thought it was music and we liked the entertainment..Social media is giving a platform to fans to see more into the lives of these rappers and most often they are really in the streets because that’s what their fans wanna see..These children today are way more heavily influenced by music…i am happy I am still in touch with technology and what’s going on and I plan to stay that way cause I want my sons to know I know what’s going on all the time and imma be on yall tails
If the photos attached are the aggressors, why not show their faces so people will know who they are. If we keep putting them behind closed doors don’t you think they’ll keep coming out the way they are doing right now?
Let’s not keep them in secret nor silence!
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