By Lee-Yandra Paulsen
Bishop Lavis residents are outraged over the brutal murder of 5-year-old Xavier Mitchell, allegedly at the hands of a 40-year-old man who is also the brother of Xavier’s nanny. The incident has left the community in shock and anger, with many residents signing a petition to deny the suspect’s bail as they demand justice for the young boy.
Graham Lindhorst, Chairperson of the Bishop Lavis Community Policing Forum (CPF), provided insight into the tragic event during an interview with VOC Breakfast. “Last week Wednesday around 10:30 in the morning, messages were circulating on social media about a boy who had been stabbed to death. Later, we found out that it was a 40-year-old man who stabbed the child. This sent shockwaves through the community. The community has been traumatized and angry. You can never do such a thing to a boy aged 5. I mean, why would a 40-year-old person stab a 5-year-old child? What reason could there be?” Lindhorst said.
The community’s outrage was palpable, especially during the memorial service for Xavier, where hundreds of residents gathered to show their support for the grieving family. Lindhorst emphasized that this incident is highly unusual, noting that while violence is not uncommon in their area, it is rare for a child of this age to be intentionally stabbed to death. “In most cases, when children are harmed, it’s often due to stray bullets, which sadly has become normalized. But in this case, it was an intentional stabbing, and that is not something we have seen before,” he said.
Lindhorst also highlighted the broader social issues plaguing the community, particularly the lack of support and resources for young children. “What we’ve been saying as a CPF is that we need to fix the social fabric of our communities. We need to look at what has been happening in our communities. If our Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres were working in our area, no 5-year-old child should be at home during the day—they should be at an ECD. If it were accessible, if it was affordable, then the child would have been there, the child would have received a better education, and the child would have been safer,” Lindhorst stated.
He criticized the government for neglecting working-class communities, pointing out that the lack of investment in social services and education leaves children vulnerable to crime and violence. Lindhorst expressed concern that the suspect may have been under the influence of drugs, highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach to uplift the community and prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.
VOC News
Photo: Pixabay
