Tribute to slain player

THE FRIENDS AND family of slain national basketball player Kirk Patrick, as well as members of the Pinelands community, took a stand against violence yesterday evening.More than a hundred people gathered at the Egbert Sealy Pavilion, Princess Royal Avenue, Pine, St Michael, to pay tribute to the life of Patrick and condemn violence in the area and in Barbados as a whole.Patrick, 31, was fatally shot on Friday, August 13, near his Hilltop, Princess Avenue home in The Pine, St Michael, shortly after returning from work.Family friend Troy Special Harper, a calypsonian and community worker, said the tribute was an attempt to sensitise the public to what was going on.“We have to take a stand and I hope other communities join with us hand-in-hand to show what is going on in terms of violence,” he said.Fellow Pinelands teammate and friend Charles Vanderpool said the tribute began with a march from four different points: Parkinson basketball court, the Barbados Community College, Valerie basketball court and Clapham basketball court, and ended at Princess Royal Avenue with a candlelight vigil.There were also verbal and pictorial tributes, and a special basketball game. (CA)