Life worth more than a dented X5
Published:Monday | July 4, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
With 17-year-old Khajeel Mais' family still mourning his death at the hands of a BMW X5 driver who shot him last Friday night, the youngster's mentor, attorney-at-law Bert Samuels, is blaming the killing on diminished societal values.
"It has to do with the indiscipline and the materialism that have taken over, that a life is equivalent to a dent on a car," Samuels told The Gleaner yesterday as he, too, lamented the death of the Kingston College student.
Mais, who took a taxi from his home in Havendale, was en route to a fête at Meadowbrook High School last Friday night when the cab he was travelling in hit the black-blue sport utility vehicle.
Angry that his vehicle was damaged in the collision, the BMW X5 driver pulled up alongside the taxi and fired shots inside, hitting Mais before speeding off.
Mais, who was shot in the head, later died at the Kingston Public Hospital. The taxi driver escaped injury.
"I wish we had more cameras in public places, so we would be able to track the vehicle down," said Samuels, convinced that someone who might have seen what happened would eventually come forward with information.
Samuels, a father of five, said he had known Mais since he was a baby, having shared a friendship of more than 50 years with the boy's father, Noel. Both men attended Swallowfield Primary, off Whitehall Avenue, Kingston.
Having had a close relationship with the family for so many years, it was only six weeks ago that Khajeel sought him out for mentoring.
"He came to see me on his own, without being pressured by anyone, and we would discuss life," the attorney said. "I would be stern with him, but he was very respectful, even if I came down hard on him."
According to Samuels, Mais wanted to be an attorney and was very good at arguing. "He was a very intelligent young man, who dressed well most times, was very neat and had a bright future."