Fri, May 25, 2007
15-year-old was 'covered in blood
Pal recalls last moments as condolences pour in
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Jordan Manners, 15, who was gunned down at C.W.
Jefferys high school Wednesday, is seen in his Grade 8 graduation
picture.
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The tragic final minutes of Jordan Manners were relived
yesterday by a
sobbing friend outside the gunshot victim's North York home, where his
mother was being consoled by friends and family.
"He was lying on the ground in the hallway
covered in blood," Shane Walters, 14, said as he recalled trying to
revive his 15-year-old friend at C.W. Jefferys high school.
"I started to shake him and his eyes were rolling in
his head," Walters said.
"I was saying, 'Jordan, get up! Jordan, get up!' " he
said.
"But it was no use. He was shaking real bad. His body
was shaking bad."
The boys were friends for four years and were in class
together earlier
that day. Walters was interviewed by homicide officers and released
early yesterday.
Jordan was popular in school and had no enemies,
Walters said.
"I don't know why anybody would want to hurt him," he
said. "I think I am one of the last people to see him alive."
Nearby, Jordan's mom, Lorraine Small, was comforted by a
line of
well-wishers at her Shoreham Dr. home as she prepared to bury her son.
The coroner still has his body.
Two of Jordan's teachers and a dozen
former schoolmates from Brookview Middle School were among the many who
paid their respects.
"There's a huge emptiness in my heart,"
Small said as she showed artwork created by her son, who turned 15 six
days before he died. "There will be an emptiness over the entire
community."
Neighbours described Jordan as popular and
an aspiring veterinarian who didn't belong to gangs or have dealings
with the police.
"He was a Grade A student," Small said. "My son had
everything going for him. He had a future to look forward to."
The mother of five, who emigrated from Nevis in the
Caribbean, said she
flagged a police cruiser on Finch Ave. W. to find out who was shot
after being told by a relative there was a shooting.
"Up to now the school hasn't called to say
my son is dead," she sobbed. "We were already planning a 16th birthday
party for him."
His aunt said Jordan was a gifted boy who loved the
theatre and acting, the outdoors, rapping and joking around with
friends.
"He was a creative child who wanted to do something to
better himself,"
Louise Manners said. "He wasn't one for joining gangs or causing
trouble."
A trust fund is being set up to help the
family pay for burial expenses, she said. Grade 12 students at his
school -- who have their prom tonight -- are planning to sell armbands,
school staff said.
"People have to talk so we can find out
who did this and get this stress off our heads," Calvin Moncrieffe, 29,
one of Jordan's brothers, said. "Jordan was a good kid, very good."
Next story: Preem
calls on PM to beef up gun laws
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