ZWADE Alleyne has died.
Around 4.15 p.m. yesterday, the 17-year-old passed away at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, where he had spent several days after he was shot outside his mother’s apartment in Maloney.
Earlier yesterday, various social media outlets, as well as the Education Ministry, carried notices of condolence as they reported that the boy had passed, but according to his uncle, around 2.30 p.m., he said: “Alleyne is still holding on.”
He also added that he was “going down to the wire” when it came to his nephew.
Contacted around 4.30 p.m., he announced that his nephew had died 15 minutes earlier. He said both he and the boy’s mother were unable to speak with anyone at the time.
Around 10.45 p.m. on Saturday, Alleyne was among a group of other teenagers on the third floor of Building 12 when they observed a group of armed men on the southern side of the building’s car park firing in their direction.
The teen and his friends dropped to the floor.
As the men continued firing, Alleyne got back up, but was struck by a bullet to his head. The gunmen then ran off as the young footballer’s friends began screaming out that he had been shot.
With the help of a neighbour, he was taken to the Arima Hospital where he was attended to and placed on life support due to the extent of his injuries. Later this week, he was transferred to Mt Hope.
The Education Ministry issued condolences to the family, schoolmates and friends of the teenager, which was posted to the ministry’s social media site.
“Dr Michael Dowlath, Minister of Education, along with the executive team, extend heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, classmates and teammates of Zwade Alleyne, a Form 5 student of Arima North Secondary School, who tragically passed away,” it said.
“Zwade was a passionate footballer and a valued member of his community’s football academy. His presence, both on and off the field, will be deeply missed,” the release added.
“The Ministry of Education mourns alongside those who knew and loved him and will continue to support the Arima North Secondary School community during this difficult time, through the Student Support Services Division.”
‘Senseless act of violence’
Trinidad and Tobago Football Association president Kieron Edwards also issued condolences via a post on Facebook.
“It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association extends our deepest condolences to the family, friends, teammates, and school community of Zwade Alleyne,” he said.
“Zwade, a promising 17-year-old student of Arima North Secondary and a vibrant part of our nation’s youth, tragically lost his life today at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex. His passing follows a senseless act of violence that has left us all grieving, outraged, and searching for answers.
“Zwade’s life was filled with potential on and off the field. He was a young man full of dreams, passion, and purpose, and his untimely death is a devastating blow not just to his loved ones, but to the wider sporting and national community,” said Edwards, who is currently in Paraguay, attending the FIFA Congress.
Alleyne was described as having played a “key role” in having his neighbourhood football academy reach the quarter-finals of a national youth league.
Wayne Sheppard, Alleyne’s football coach at Arima North Secondary, spoke with the Express on Sunday, during which he described Alleyne as a talented player who was well liked by his team.
“He was quiet among us adults, but with his peers, he opened up,” he said. “Undoubtedly, he is a talented player and he was not into any kind of nonsense.
“We reach a stage now where a boy cannot go outside his house. What kind of life is that?” he asked rhetorically.
In April, the Express reported the murder of another talented teenage footballer, Ezekiel Ramdialsingh, also 17. On the night of April 15, Ramdialsingh and several friends were liming in the front yard of his friend’s home in Oscar Pyle Crescent, Phase Four, La Horquetta.