The grieving family of 20-year-old Amani Kanye Lorde, who died after being stabbed on Friday, are saying looks can be deceiving.
A viral video on social media showed Lorde and a man getting into a scuffle in Holetown, St James, with Lorde wielding a cutlass.
Lorde subsequently fell and was attacked while on the ground.
Police reported that the altercation took place about 2:30 p.m. and upon arrival, officers saw Lorde’s body on the road along the 1st Street and Holetown road junction. A doctor visited and pronounced death.
Yesterday at Lorde’s Hutson Alley, Mason Hall Street, Bridgetown home, his grandmother Erlanda Small and aunt Shakena Small, along with the help of a few neighbours, told a different tale of the former Harrison College student.
The family said the former
mixologist – who used to mix specialty drinks on the beach using coconut water and an assortment of fruits – previously operated on Accra Beach in Rockley, Christ Church, but recently shifted to a beach in Holetown.
“He get in an altercation with that man (the alleged perpetrator) three weeks ago where the man trouble he first. Out of that, Amani move from his usual spot out by Accra to Holetown to try and avoid any more confrontation. That man [however] find Amani,” Shakena said.
The distraught aunt said she heard about her nephew’s death from her brother that day. She lamented how social media had labelled her nephew, but stressed that people did not know the whole story.
“He was a caring and sharing person, a loving and ambitious child. He was a real gogetter and dream chaser. He had his challenges too, but he didn’t need to die that way; that could have ended differently,” she said.
Lorde’s mother, Ayana Small, speaking via telephone, said he was a loving person.
“He was not anybody to trouble anybody first. If he had his last, you could get it. So many people call me and tell me good things about him. It’s not just a loss for me, but it is a loss for Barbados too. He used to mix drinks with coconuts on the beach, that’s why he had a cutlass, and made an impact on the economy selling to tourists,” she said. (CA)
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