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Upon returning from a funeral in St Elizabeth on Saturday, Ivetta Hylton was shocked to find herself unable to enter her Airy Castle, St Andrew community. When she enquired about the delay, police informed her that a shooting had taken place.

As soon as she heard the news, Hylton immediately tried reaching her son, Nkumah 'Troy' Hylton, but his phone rang unanswered. At first, she didn't suspect anything was wrong, but a nagging sense of unease began to take hold.

"When we reach back, we see a whole lot of people and police, and they said the bus can't go through to carry us straight home because there was a shooting. I stayed for a while and then I asked the police if I could go, and they told me no because the person was dead. I started calling Troy right away to find out if everything was okay, but I couldn't get him. I called my granddaughter, but I couldn't get her either," Hylton recalled.

When she learnt that a man had been killed, an overwhelming feeling gripped her heart. She immediately thought of her son, and this time, a chilling sense of dread washed over her.

"I just said, 'Jesus Christ, Troy dead,' because there was never a time I called him and he didn't answer. His son was with me and told me he couldn't reach his father. Then I heard it was him. Oh God, Saturday night was a night I will never forget. My son was killed in his car. My poor son was so humble and quiet," she wailed.

According to a Corporate Communications Unit (CCU) report, around 9:20 p.m. on Saturday, Nkumah was sitting in his vehicle in Airy Castle, near Stony Hill, when gunmen approached and opened fire on him. The police were alerted, and he was rushed to the Kingston Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The tragic incident occurred while the community was under a curfew.

As she sat on her verandah, the weight of her grief was visible in every movement- constantly wiping her eyes as she struggled to cope with the loss of her son.

"His 10-year-old son keeps asking what his father did and why they killed him. I can't stop crying. If I see a shirt that belongs to him, I cry. I keep looking at his pictures, and it's hard. He was the last of three boys, and he was the one who lived with me. He was my little boy," Hylton added, her voice heavy with sorrow.

She described Nkumah as a peaceful and humble man who never caused trouble.

"He was a quiet person, full of manners. Everyone talks about Troy. He was an auto mechanic but mostly drove his taxi and did charter work. He never troubled people, and the entire community will tell you that," she said.

A resident of the area expressed disbelief at the recent surge in violence in what was once a peaceful community. He recalled how the gunmen seemed intent on causing harm, knocking on doors both before and after the shooting.

"I feel like if the entire community hadn't been at the funeral, more than one person would have died. It's like the gunmen were determined to kill someone. Before and after the shooting, they were going around knocking on people's doors, but luckily, no one came out to them," the resident said.

As investigations continue, the community remains in shock, grappling with the loss of one of their own, and with lingering fears over the rising violence in what was once a tranquil neighbourhood.