Distraught grandmother Marsha Murphy remembers her eight-year-old grandson as a well-mannered child with a beautiful spirit.

Eight-year-old Eugene Woodside, affectionately called ‘EJ’ by his family, was killed when a stray bullet infiltrated the dark brown wooden house behind his grandmother’s house in the Chippingham area on Monday evening.

Eugene was in his house completing his homework at the time of the shooting.

After hearing gunshots outside her house, Ms. Murphy faced the gruesome scene of her grandson’s bloodied body lying in the arms of his grieving mother, who was wailing at the top of her lungs.

“I only heard the gunshots because I was in the house. Then I heard a lady screaming and then I came outside to go over there to see what went down and I saw he was shot. EJ had gotten shot and his mommy brought him outside to carry him to the car to take him to the hospital,” Ms. Murphy told The Bahama Journal yesterday.

Barely able to express her state of mind during the pain, Ms. Murphy said after she realized what happened, she started screaming.

Ms. Murphy said her grandson had a beautiful personality.

“That’s one little boy, he’s a very nice little boy, anything you tell him do, he does it,” she said.

According to Ms. Murphy, the man who was also shot on Monday ran through their backyard trying to evade the bullets.

“He came through the back way and came running through the yard. They didn’t even see no bullet where the bullet went straight through the house with their daddy sitting right in the front door and they duck and run for cover,” she said.

Although Ms. Murphy and her family received a warm welcome from neighbors, she said violence cannot be ignored.

Perplexed as to why something like this would happen to an innocent child, Ms. Murphy still showed a merciful heart.

“We understand that it is an accident, but it is not fair and he hasn’t even started life yet,” Ms. Murphy said.

Rosebud Road, off Farrington Road, where the murder occurred, is known as a crime riddled area.

Also expressing grief over Eugene’s death was Albury Sayle Primary School Principal Katherine Rose.

“I was devastated. Eugene left school yesterday (Monday) with his ice-cream cone. He went with his best friend across to Bamboo Shack where he waited for his grandmother. We didn’t know that yesterday would be the last time that Eugene would be with us,” Ms. Rose said.

She also described Eugene’s beautiful spirit.

“Little darling, little boy, always wanted a hug, a beautiful spirit. We know that he may be absent from us, but he is present with the Lord with angels surrounding him and I pray for encouragement for his mother as she goes through this trying time,” Ms. Rose said.

Students and administrative staff at Albury Sayle Primary School were as equally traumatized by the senseless killing of Eugene.

Speaking with reporters, Ms. Rose shared the school’s strategy to help with the school’s bereavement through counseling for teachers and students by providing ‘special grieving’ counseling for everyone on campus.