By Kadeem Joseph
A 30-year-old youth has been charged in connection with the stabbing of Shaquille Joseph, who remains in hospital, in serious condition, due to the injuries he sustained.
Police have arrested and charged Youseff Dion Mc Dougal with the attempted murder of the Tindale Road resident.
Mc Dougal, who resides in Villa, is accused of stabbing Joseph multiple times about his body last Thursday.
Based on reports, wounds were allegedly inflicted during an altercation in the Golden Grove area while both men were on the job.
Joseph and Mc Dougal are both employees of the National Solid Waste Management Authority.
Joseph, who turned 24 years old on Saturday, reportedly suffered injuries to the heart and diaphragm during the incident.
It is for that reason, Joseph’s mother told Observer on Sunday, that he remains in the hospital in a coma and on ventilator support “because he can’t breathe properly on his own because of the injuries.”
She told Observer that the weekend was particularly difficult as her son had to spend his birthday in the hospital, a reality that hit harder as mothers the world over celebrated Mother’s Day yesterday.
But even as she continues to worry about her son’s wellbeing, she told Observer that she is hopeful that her son will make a full recovery.
“By the grace of God, he will come through,” she declared.
She said police notified her of the charge leveled against Mc Dougal on Saturday.
When asked how she received the news, Joseph’s mother said she hoped the man accused of attempting to murder her son, with whom she is familiar, “gets help.”
With Joseph remaining in the Intensive Care Unit at the Mount St John’s Medical Centre, his family said that based on the last update from his doctors, he is still in need of blood.
While the 24-year-old is of the O-positive blood type, individuals of all blood groups are encouraged to donate on Joseph’s behalf.