“I don’t want to hear no sorry” – mother of boy killed by stray bullet demands justice

Seated outside her home in Charlestown, Georgetown, Keisha Gustave looked shattered—her face swollen from tears, her body weighed down by unimaginable grief. Her only son, seven-year-old Jeremiah Gustave, succumbed to his injuries on Saturday evening after an eight-month battle for survival following a gunshot wound to the head.

Jeremiah’s tragic ordeal began on July 9, 2024, when a stray bullet struck him while he sat at his mother’s food stall on Charles Street. The bullet, the result of a crossfire between two individuals, changed the course of the young Smith’s Memorial Primary School student’s life forever.
In the months that followed, Jeremiah endured multiple surgeries, including the installation of a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt to drain excess fluid from his brain. His progress was painfully slow—he was unable to speak, and his movements were minimal. Then, in early January 2025, complications with the shunt forced an emergency surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC).

Hope
“To be honest, I had the faith that Jerry would come through this, and he’ll be back to how he was. I never think anything negative about this. I always pray for the best for him. But right now, I asking God to give me the strength to get through this here. If I don’t, I think I might run mad,” she said, tears streaming down her face.
For months, she remained by her son’s side, taking care of him, watching for any signs of improvement. There were moments when she thought he was getting better—small movements of his toes and head gave her hope. But those moments never lasted.
Jeremiah’s final days were filled with ups and downs.
A week before Phagwah, his mother said she noticed that his hands and stomach were swelling. Concerned, she rushed him to GPHC where doctors discovered that liquid was oozing from the area where he was being fed. He was treated and sent home.
“I was feeding him and taking care of him as usual, but I didn’t know…” she whispered, struggling to comprehend what had happened.
Then, on the night of Saturday, March 29, Jeremiah took his final breath.

Heartbreak
Keisha told this publication she had no clue that she would lose her son that night. Just a few days before, she had celebrated her birthday, though there was no real celebration—she spent the day taking care of Jeremiah as usual. Seeing her devotion, she said her husband, Jeremiah’s father, insisted that she take a break and go out for a short while. He planned a night out for her on Saturday and arranged for her mother to watch over their son.
She said she left the house to get her makeup done. While at the salon, she received a call from the child’s father telling her to “come now, Jerry is not breathing”. She said she dropped everything and ran. When she arrived at the hospital, doctors had pronounced Jeremiah dead.
“Friday night I went to church, and before I left during the day I telling he ‘I love you and I will look after you and try to do everything for you and buy anything for you’. I didn’t have the slightest clue that I would lose my son”, she said.

A cry for justice
As Keisha mourns, she said she is also battling with her frustration at the justice system.
Just a week before Jeremiah’s death, the trial finally began for the accused shooter, Odel Garnette, also known as “Crab”. Garnette had been remanded since October 2024. However, to the family’s dismay, charges against a second suspect, Marlon Wilburg, were withdrawn, leading to his release. The decision has left the Gustave family enraged.
“I would put my knees down and cry on them. The other guy who got set free cannot go down like that. They said they don’t have evidence against him, and that is why he was freed, but it was a crossfire,” Keisha said, her voice thick with anger and grief.
“I don’t care what they say that they don’t have any evidence. Yes, we understand that he was alive at the said time, but now he passed away, and now you gon come fuh tell me that they still don’t have any evidence against him? And you won’t charge him for anything? Y’all withdrew this matter when my son was alive, now my son passed away, y’all gon still come and tell me y’all ain’t got no evidence? I ain’t want to hear nobody come and tell me no sorry.”
Keisha told this publication that she refuses to accept that her son’s life will be reduced to just another statistic.
“I don’t want anybody to come and tell me sorry. Sorry cannot bring back my son. They all have to face the squeeze. I don’t want no money, let them keep their money. They have to do something. All I want is justice for Jeremiah.”
Now, in his death, the dead child’s mother said she is even more determined to fight.
She recalled how difficult it was to get assistance for her son while he was alive. She pleaded for help, but many of her efforts were unsuccessful. But she said she will not stop. Not now. Not ever.
“This cannot be another case where they just let it pass,” she said. “Something has to be done.”
Keisha is now calling for justice, not just for her son but for all innocent victims of gun violence. As she prepares to lay her son to rest, Keisha Gustave is left with only one demand: justice.