NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Kissie Brown-Pratt says she will be able to’t sleep without hearing the voice of her slain child crying out after the 13-year-old was killed in Kemp Road on Friday.
She says when she found her son lying on his stomach in William’s Lane together with his hands to his side, she knew immediately he was dead.
“I do know sooner or later he woulda needed to die,” she told Eyewitness News yesterday.
“I do know sooner or later all of us must die. However it ain where he die, it’s how he die that’s really hurting me. A small 13-year-old boy, no weight, tiny baby. You may see he’s a baby. To take two shots, one behind his neck and one in his jaw, that’s really hurtful for a mother to face here and say. Other people could fall asleep at night whilst I crying all night.”
Quinton McKenzie loved music and sports and was the grandson of the late Bahamian entertainer Smokey 007, based on his family. Police say a boy is in custody assisting them together with his murder investigation.
Brown-Pratt said she was outside her home around 8pm on Friday when she fell to the bottom after hearing gunshots. She said when she got as much as go inside she heard more gunshots.
“Like (the gunshots) wouldn’t stop,” she said. “So I screamed and I hollered for my husband, ‘baby baby let’s go the kids on the park. I say Lord have mercy on my children, I pray to God it’s none of my children what get shoot. I just keep saying have mercy Lord, have mercy please cover my children.”
The pair checked a park and saw people running away but saw no sign of a shooting. She said on their way home they encountered one in all their nephews who told them Quinton was on the bottom laying flat on his stomach.
As she ran towards the scene, she says, she felt like “all my chest, my heart was tearing open.”
“After which I get there to see my baby laying down on his stomach together with his hands beside him not moving,” she said. “I did already know he was dead. When my son got there and grab him up his tongue was hanging out his mouth. I did done know he was dead. My husband stand over him together with his hands over his head like what that is. I almost die, I couldn’t imagine that was my 13-year-old.”
“What happened? Why would someone shoot a little bit boy? Am I in a dream? Is that this for real? Someone please wake me up, if I’m in a dream let me know. Why would any individual come on a park where it’s speculated to be for youths, for youngsters to return and play…you mean to inform me now the park isn’t secure for youngsters to go on, for youths to go and play? My child shouldn’t must exit like that.”
Brown-Pratt said Quinton was the lifetime of the party at home, school and all over the place else. She said her son was an honor roll student “from pre-school,” played five instruments and loved baseball, basketball, soccer and karate. He dreamed of becoming a baseball player and he worked at Super Value to lower your expenses for school.
“I don’t think he was speculated to exit like that,” she said.
“I haven’t slept like that. I ain eating, just drinking tea and eating crackers. Each time I attempt to sleep it’s like I hearing him crying to me, I hearing his voice. I can’t sleep, I ain haven’t any peace until they find who murdered my son.”
“This really hurting me. I don’t know where to go from here, I don’t know learn how to go on.”
She said Quinton had just gotten off from work at Super Value and went to the basketball court when he was killed. She said her son was not gambling as some rumored.
“If you happen to know him like I do know him, you’d know he wasn’t gambling, not my Quinton,” she said. “He was counting his money. Each time you mostly see him he counting his money.”
Brown-Pratt came upon during her interview with Eyewitness News that police has a juvenile in custody connected to the matter.
“I still ain joyful,” she said. “I still attempting to determine why. Why Quinton, such a sweet soul?”
Quinton’s father, Quincy Mckenzie, was in Exuma when his son was killed.
He said across the time his son was killed he sent Quinton a voice note but got no response. Soon after he sent the message, the boy’s mother called him to say Quinton was shot. Nevertheless, he said he assumed his child had survived but was taken to the hospital.
“I continued to hang around with my coworkers until one in all my coworkers got a message from her family group on Whatsapp,” he said. “She checked out the photo and said this your son here and he or she show me it and I coulda see and I break down. The following morning I catch a flight out, which suggests I haven’t seen him for 2 weeks because I used to be over there for the past two weeks and a half.”
“I’m tryna figure how my life will probably be from here, what I mean? I just can’t see it being the identical anymore. Cus I do know if I used to be here, if I didn’t go to Exuma––not saying taking the trip was a nasty thing––however it was a vacation; we probably woulda been on the beach.”
