The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

THE youngest of Tia Sands’ two children sat innocently in a car on Sunday, unaware of the tragedy that had unfolded when her 23-year-old mother, affectionately known as “Redz,” was fatally shot on the side of her on Finlayson Street in Bain Town.

The newborn baby was unharmed, but the harrowing aftermath was recounted by Sands’ uncle, Dodridge Connolly, who rushed to the scene after hearing the gunshots.

“She slouched over,” he said of Sands, “bullet to the head and in her back.”

“She still was breathing, so her friend jump in the car and carried her to PMH, try see if she could have saved her.”

A mother of two young daughters, Sands had recently travelled from Abaco to New Providence to deliver her second child. Her family described her as a loving mother and an aspiring hairstylist who worked hard to provide for her children.

Behind Mr Connolly stood Sands’ one-year-old daughter, oblivious to the loss of her mother.

Sands’ death has left her family and the Bain Town community reeling. Friends and neighbours shared their grief on social media, many recalling her kindness and ambition.

The motive for the shooting remains unclear, and police have yet to identify any suspects.

Mr Connolly described the violence as an anomaly in an area. “I don’t know if guys through the corner was beefing or what not,” he said. “Something like that right now is a little sketchy.”

“People could live and move through up and down, but a shooting like that on a Sunday like? People could be a little scared to come out of their house to move through right now.”