The father of Malcolm Aberdeen says while he is saddened by his son’s death, he felt his son was intent on dying, as he refused to give up the criminal way of life. Aberdeen, 20, died in a shootout with police in Sangre Grande early on Sunday, after spending a month on the run for a stabbing and robbery.
Newsday spoke to Aberdeen’s father Stephen at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on Tuesday. He admitted his son lived a criminal lifestyle. “I spoke with him up to the Wednesday before he died, and pleaded with him to turn himself in, but he didn’t listen.
“He told me that he wasn’t going back to jail. He said he would rather die than go back, and he said if the police tried to arrest him, he would shoot them. He already made up his mind to die. Some parents would come and bawl down the place when their child dies from police, but not me.
“I already knew where this was going, I fed up say that badness doesn’t pay.” The elder Aberdeen said his son had five cases relating to drug, gun and ammunition possession before the court. He also urged parents who were separated to make time for their children and not allow differences and spite to prevent fathers from having a relationship with their children.
“I used to talk to him about that lifestyle. When his mother and I separated, we had a rift in our relationship, and I wasn’t seeing him very often. “I feel this is what contributed to the path his life took. I wanted to discipline him and veer him off of that path, but it never happened.”
Despite the loss of his son, Aberdeen said he feels as if he is given a second chance to make amends, through his seven-month-old grandson. “As long as I have life, health and strength I will support him (my grandson). This cannot happen again,” Aberdeen said.