The boy called "Brains" was gunned down in his Mahogany Heights community around 7am today. 18-year-old Ethan Thompson was riding his bicycle, on his way back home when he was targeted by a gunman.
The teenager was supposed to be preparing to receive his high school diploma next year and now, his family is preparing to bury him. This morning, his sister told us that she and her parents were trying to come to terms with losing a huge part of them. Courtney Menzies visited her home today and spoke with her. Here is that story.
18-year-old Ethan Thompson left his home in Mahogany Heights this morning to buy tacos for his mother, but she never got it because he was gunned down before he could return, the tacos still in his pocket.
And this morning, his mother was inconsolable, and her cries rang out as she mourned the youngest of her ten children. His sister, who managed to hold back the tears when we spoke, said they had done everything in their power to keep him safe from the gang world so she never thought he was the target when she heard the shots.
Shelene Myers, Sister of Deceased
"I was in my bed and I heard the shots and one of my little brothers came to knock on my door and said they just shot my other little brother Ethan in the head. I just run outside and I gone and when I look, I saw his body on the ground. It still didn't register that Ethan was down there because he wasn't into that kind of life. He was in school, he was in fourth form at Maud Williams. I keep him close to me because I wanted him to make something out of himself, I didn't want this faith for him, but I guess that's how it goes, if you can't catch Harry catch his shirt."
And his sister was determined to ensure that he had a future - and with a nickname like "Brains" she was sure he could have been successful.
Shelene Myers, Sister of Deceased
"He was into technology, he would fix or unlock any phone, he will fix your computer, whatever when it comes to technology. He was smart. He was funny. He used to be able to tell you a story… I will miss my little brother. Honestly I will mis shim. They took a part of us. That was like my baby. I do everything for him. I used to always tell him, your sister has your back, always."
"I told him, Ethan this is your last year you have to tighten up and get your diploma, my little brother. And try join BDF or even police, try do something with your life. he said yes sis. Tomorrow he was supposed to go to school."
But he'll never make it there, and he'll never be able to wear that cap and gown come next summer. And like his family, the staff at Maud Williams, who just opened for in class learning last week, was crushed by the news since they say a lot of time and effort went into Ethan's education.
Deborah Domingo, Principal, Maud Williams High School
"When we heard about his murder, it was just so devastating. When I shared the news with the teachers, it was equally so. They were able to share all it took to encourage Ethan to stay the course to continue in school, the encouragement that they consistently had to provide, we were just absolutely devastated and during the course of the morning, one of his very good friends, a classmate, he had stopped by and so it made it all the more difficult to come to terms with it."
"Ethan was so quiet and unassuming in class, even some of the teachers were asking, what does he look like again, I remember we had him in the lower classes but he wasn't that kind of student who was constantly in trouble and he was very quiet, very humble, very unassuming young man. Well known among his peers because he had a very dry wit."
And this murder will plague the mental health of those peers, who already have to contend with their own personal struggles. Domingo explained that this type of grief is not uncommon for them, but it's just as sharp as the first cut.
Deborah Domingo, Principal, Maud Williams High School
"Our counselor has been on the ball, she has been reaching out to his classmates, in fact there was a session this morning with the counselor and his very best friend so we were doing that kind of psycho-social support for the students."
"They live this trauma because of the neighborhoods they come from. It doesn't make it any easier but we recognize that exposure to violence in their immediate communities is a thing of the norm for them, it's a regular occurrence but it does not take away the pain whenever a member of the school community is lost. And so we have had to provide as much support as we can for students who have lost immediate family members and now one of our own."
Myers told us that she heard shots being fired on Saturday night, and the next day realized that the guns were aimed at her other brother's vehicle. They are known to be active in gang rivalries. She believes the incidents are connected.
