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« Barrington teen charged with murder admits bail breach | Today | Update: Marchers head to State House for labor rally » May 2, 2008A call for peace amid sorrow at shooting victim's funeral
“My son is leaving me, my good son is leaving me,” Helder’s mother, 55-year-old Virignia Tomar, said over and over again in Creole as friends and family members went up to the coffin to bid farewell to him. “You’re leaving everybody behind and you have a lot of friends and family around you today,” Mrs. Tomar said. A tall, distinguished-looking woman whose hair is streaked with gray, Mrs. Tomar emigrated to the country from Cape Verde with her husband, Paulo, in 1990 to make a better life for their seven children. She kept her composure through most of the hour-long service at the Merrrick R. William Funeral Home on Smithfield Avenue. But when the time came to close the coffin and take her dead son to Mount St. Mary’s Cemetery for burial, she and others in the room began to wail. Helder Tomar, 19, was shot to death in a fight that broke out last Saturday afternoon in Jenks Park with 19-year-old Anthony Strobert, who has been charge with murder. The day after the shooting, 16-year Edelmiro Roman of Central Falls was shot down on Dexter Street and and killed. Police say they believe that Roman, whose family is from Puerto Rico, was killed in retaliation for Tomar’s slaying. Addressing the crowd of young people who packed the funeral home this morning, lay preacher Marco De Barros called for peace. -- Journal staff writer John Castellucci “Death is part of life, but it’s supposed to be natural, not by violence, not by strife,” said De Barros, a 1996 graduate of Shea High School, where Tomar was a student. “My question, young people is ‘What now? What are you going to do with this experience? I believe we are at a crossroads. We have a choice to make.” He urged the crowd to choose peace over continued violence. “If we keep living this way –– an eye for an eye –– all of us will be blind.” Posted by Peter Phipps CommentsAmy | May 2, 2008 4:52 PM link My heart goes out to the two families that lost their child. I agree with the Paster the violence has to stop. there will never be a good reason why someone should be killed. I am Puerto Rican raised by a black family, and my children are mixed PR and Black. I do not see the difference, we are all minorities, we need to still together. A Puerto Rican killing a Black, and a Black killing a Puerto Rican is still Black on Black crime and Minority on Minority crime. We have to put an end to this hate. Minorities have it bad enough as it is, without having our own people killing us. Teach your children and teach each other that we are the same. Lizette Fuentes | May 2, 2008 6:25 PM link i agree we are loosing too many of our kids and family members to violence over what? we fight over stupid things i wish we could go back in the day where we fought with our hands and not guns or knifes i am so sorry for the loss of these young gentleman way to young to die for no reason if we put all of our energy into bettering ourselves instead of fighting it would be a better place to live for all christina | May 2, 2008 7:35 PM link i don't under stand why these young man kept turn to a gun you think about it a gun lead to two things 1 death 2 aci both ways you lose a young man | May 3, 2008 12:39 AM link Post a commentPlease be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006
God Bless the entire family and all his friends. I didn't know him, but from my own experience, I know the hurt it brings. Listen to what the preacher said, stop the violence, these young kids can't keep getting killed. These families and friends cannot keep going through this torture. AMY