‘The house feels empty’: Family grieves young man shot outside his home

In a home that should be filled with life and laughter, there is now a silence that his family cannot escape.

“The house feels empty, even though it is full,” his sister, Dakenya Lightbourne, said, carrying the weight of a loss that still does not feel real.

Kenric Strachan was only 24.

He was a father of two, with twins on the way this year, a future that his family says he was quietly preparing for. Though described as a private person, those closest to him say he was always happy, ready with a joke, always laughing.

He loved music. He loved cooking for his nephews. He loved to dress well and ride his motorcycle. And in his family, he was the last child, the one they watched grow up.

Now, they are planning his funeral.

Kenric was shot last week in the vicinity of his home on Mekel Close South in Bamboo Town. He had gone outside to retrieve baby items from his vehicle, when he was shot in the leg and side. He tried to run back inside.

He never made it.

For his family, the pain is not just emotional, but physical.

“This is making you not able to eat,” his sister said. “His mother is very weak.”

The shock has rippled beyond the home. Friends say they had just spoken to him days before, wishing him a happy birthday on March 25. Others remember seeing him riding his bike, unaware it would be the last time.

“We watched him grow up,” his family said.

Now they are left with questions, and his sister wants justice no matter how long it takes.