39 year old Jessem Gladden was shot last night at 8:30 and is in a critical condition tonight at the KHMH. Gladden was shot on Flamboyant Street when two men rode up and shot him at close range. His family believes he was targeted because of his brother Darren Banks - Monica Bodden spoke to them
Monica Bodden Reporting
The blood stains on the street side marks the spot where 39 year old Jessem Gladden was shot around 8 o'clock last night. Gladden was sitting on a bucket - socializing - in front of this long barracks on Flamboyant street - when two gun men came out of this nearby alley and opened fire.
Cecila Milton - Girlfriend
"I was at home sleeping after a hard day's work and my friend "dada" call me and told me that my boyfriend just got shot and I got up and put on my clothes and come to the hospital."
Monica Bodden
"This was at what time?"
Cecila Milton - Girlfriend
"Well he got shot from 8 o' clock but they didn't want to give me the bad news and so they call me about 9 o' clock. When I come to the hospital talking to his mom and his friend he was critical, I couldn't see him until he came out of the operating theatre."
Gladden was shot to his left cheek, left shoulder and to the right side of his back. His is listed in a critical condition at the KHMH.
Cecila Milton - Girlfriend
"I didn't see him but I heard from his friend that he got shot to his head, his shoulder, in his belly and in the back."
Monica Bodden
"At this point what is the doctor saying?"
Cecila Milton - Girlfriend
"The doctor is not really giving a straight answer but the way how he is talking - it's like nothing good will come out of it but all we have to do is to pray because know that he is a fighter. He will come back."
Elida Bonnell - Mother
"The doctor says that (I was looking for the worst news) because everything inside him is damage so we just have to pray for a miracle for him."
Monice Bodden
"Everything is destroyed?"
Elida Bonnell - Mother
"Inside his stomach yes; the spleen, the kidneys, the pancreas and the liver with the bullets that hit him, so I just have to pray and ask God for a miracle."
Jessem Gladden is the brother of the notorious Darren Banks -who is known to have a long criminal record with police. Today his mother told us, her 39 year old son may have been targeted simply for being the brother of Darren Banks.
Elida Bonnell - Mother
"Well I don't know if they try to target him because of Darren you know. I know you because a lot of people target us and they don't know me and they don't know my children because I didn't raise my children that way. Each mother knows best for their children. Even the police target us because sometimes they..... I tell Jessem one time 'you are Darren Banks brother so you are just like him' but Jessem is not like him and Darren is not a bad person. People rate him and call him "notorious" because he is sick. But people don't know him as that. All his friend don't know his as that. Notorious - that's a very bad name they give to him and that's the public and the police force that did that. I believe it's the police is that one's because they are the ones that talk that is Darren friend and they are back in news and what not and I believe they are the ones who does things like that - probably paid someone to do it."
Cecila Milton - Girlfriend
"I don't know Jessem as any bad, he is a nice person, friendly person - like to give jokes and apart from me he treats me good and everything. He has a lot of friends. I don't know Jessem as anybody who have enemy and so I don't know who wants to hurt him out here."
Monica Bodden
"He never said to you well 'babe I have to watch my back because I am getting threats'?"
Cecila Milton - Girlfriend
"Well he always tells me that sometimes he is afraid to walk the streets and he would tell me that he don't want me to walk with him due to they were sending threats to him but I tell him that once he is with God nothing will not happen."
The family of Jessem Gladden is asking if anyone can help assist them in getting 6 bottles of medication which cost $1,187 and which he is desperately in need of. If you would like to assist you can call telephone number 6-3-0-5-6-6-0. And after last night's shooting, a 72 year old elderly woman - who has resided on Flamboyant Street for over 29 years - told us she is lucky to be alive tonight - after one of the bullets from the shooting, shot through her living room. She told us her story.
Alvine Hemsley, resident
"I was sitting down outside on that cement and a lot of people was out here. There were plenty of children playing ball, there were some children running on the street and people over the other side and this side. I was sitting there and a young man came to sit beside and I told the young man that I am going in my bed soon. This was after 8 because I don't like to be out here where there is a crowd because I remember when a crowd was out here was when they shoot my grandson. So he says that he is going because he have two babies and he went and got a little distance from me when I heard 'pow' and so I run and come inside the house and in my next room to lie down on the floor. So after the shooting done I come out and somebody says they see a hole in my house so I say no. I say that I will look in the morning when I am awake. When I woke up the morning and I went outside I say that this hole was not here and so I push my finger through it and then I went inside the house. When I came inside I see the big hole inside the house and I feel the bullet."
Monica Bodden
"This bullet you found in the living room. You could have been sitting down watching TV."
Alvine Hemsley, resident
"I usually sit down right there in that chair, but then the news was finish and it was hot and so I went to sit outside. It's not something that I usually do."
Monica Bodden
"You consider yourself to be lucky?"
Alvine Hemsley, resident
"Well God is with me. I am 72 and I didn't do anyone anything. I didn't see anything. All I hear is "pow" and leave. People were running on top of one another."
Monica Bodden
"How many shots you heard?"
Alvine Hemsley, resident
"I heard like 5 shots, I am not directly sure but it's about 5 I hear. I hear pow, then I heard pow - pow - pow - pow then I ran inside."
Police have made no arrests….
