Gibson Corner man gunned down 50 yards from his home

Gibson Corner resident Duwayne Mitchell was less than one minute away from home, when his life was cut short by a barrage of bullets last Thursday night.{{more}}

Persons in the neighbourhood who said they heard two bursts of rapid gunfire, thought the noise was coming from far away, and that no one had been hurt.

But not so, the 27-year-old man’s grandmother, who said she had a sinking, sickening feeling, when the sound of bullets pierced the night air.

“When I heard the noise I said ‘Oh God that’s the time Duwayne usually comes in’,” said Margaret Mitchell, as she spoke to SEARCHLIGHT on Saturday afternoon at the home she shared with Duwayne.

“I was so scared, I started to call him on the phone and he wouldn’t answer. I tried the phone about 60 times and I realised, and I said Lord, something is wrong with Duwayne.”

Mitchell said that it took her some time to gather enough courage to venture outside of the house; then a man came to her and asked her if she was “Chucky’s grandmother”, to which she replied “yes”.

“…And I said ‘what happen, Duwayne dead?’ He didn’t answer me, but that gave me the confirmation that he was dead.”

Some time after 10 o’clock on August 8, Duwayne was gunned down about 50 yards from his home, close to a bus stop on the Gibson Corner main road.

SEARCHLIGHT understands that police investigators recovered more than 17 spent shells from the scene, and that most of the bullets came into contact with the deceased’s body.

Mitchell told SEARCHLIGHT that she had seen her grandson earlier that day at home, when she informed him that she was going to a doctor’s appointment and left him there.

She said that when she returned home, he was not in.

According to her, the father of a three-year-old daughter, he would usually take his child to school, pick her up, and if he had nothing else to do, it is more than likely that he would remain at home.

She said that his daughter was not at home that day, giving him the liberty to spend some time outdoors.

As far as Mitchell was aware, Duwayne did not have any enemies, but had complained to her earlier this year that someone might have had an issue with him.

“One time, I remember that was in January, he came home and say ‘mommy I have something to tell you….’

He came in and sat on my bed and he said ‘somebody tell me that some guy say that he hates me and he will take me down one of these days,’ and I said ‘Duwayne let us pray about it,’ and I told my two girls and said ‘pray for Duwayne,’ and I warned him and said ‘don’t go on the street that late at night.’ He never raised that issue again.

“Anytime you see him you would see him alone; he didn’t keep in a group he is always by himself; he was very mannerly.”

Mitchell told SEARCHLIGHT that Duwayne and his daughter now share a similar and sad fate: he too lost his father when he was three years old.

She indicated that Duwayne’s mother resides in Canada, and that he also has a younger brother, who lives with their mother.

The grandmother echoed the sentiment of another family member who was present during the interview, that they are leaving the situation in God’s hands, and that He will provide justice.

“We are hurt, we are grieved about what happened, how he was taken down like that; but God is going to have his way. We never expected it, it’s hard….

“He is my grand. He grew up with me. I had him from a baby, so we lived together all the years. Anytime I’m going to the States, I would take him with me, so we had a close bond; you can imagine how I feel about it. It was really rough,” Mitchell lamented.

The family indicated that he may be buried this Sunday.