Academy, Elite teams heal together after ‘traumatic’ shooting

In the aftermath of Sunday’s shooting at Ed Bush Stadium, members of Academy SC and Elite SC gathered Monday night in support and solidarity following what has been an “incredibly traumatic experience”.

The teams were playing a Premier League match on Sunday when, during the half-time break, a gunman opened fire on a group of spectators.

Seven people were injured during the melee; three remain in hospital and four have since been released.

Paul Byles, Academy men’s team head coach as well as head of youth development for the club, told the Cayman Compass Tuesday that Academy arranged a dinner with players from both teams for “fellowship and support”, the night after the incident.

“It was really important to just come together and talk. This incident is extremely rare for Cayman and we cannot underestimate its potential mental impact,” Byles said. “In the moment that you are trying to get to safety you are quite literally thinking of your life so you can imagine what it’s like for anyone having that experience or having to recall that memory.”

Dealing with the trauma

Byles, who was was coaching the men’s team the night of the shooting, said this incident had nothing to do with football.

“It’s unnerving to think it could have happened anywhere within our community,” he said.

He added that Academy was very fortunate to have clinical psychologist Shannon Seymour as a member for the past 16 years as she “guides us in these types of situations”.

“With Shannon’s support, we distributed information to the team about handling traumatic events and offered to assist anyone who needs it,” he said.

Byles said the organised dinner turned out to be a very nice gathering for both teams.

“We have always had a very good relationship with coach Greg [Ebanks] and Elite and to be honest it was very natural for us to come together like that,” he said.

On Monday night the teams, according to a joint social media post on Facebook, gathered at Salty’s Sports Bar “to share love, support and community”.

The post also sent a “thank you to everyone who reached out with wishes and prayers”.

A community in pain

Like the teams and those present at the shooting, Cayman’s wider community is reeling from the events on Sunday night.

CayMind helpline founder Dympna Carten says it is natural following a traumatic event that there will be feelings of fear and anxiety.

“This is something that we generally don’t have to fear. It’s something that we don’t have to face. So for people that were there and for the immediate community, it’s that sense of lack of control,”  she said.

The community psychiatric nurse said the shooting was “a very frightening, very emotional and fearful situation for anyone who is there and for their immediate community”.

She said this incident will have a negative effect on people’s  wellbeing.

“This will have an impact, particularly for the individuals that were there, for perhaps family members of individuals that were there… people may experience some symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, depression, or even anxiety, but we know that these things can be addressed,” she said.

There is always help available, she said, adding that no one should be embarrassed to seek support.

“It’s not anything to be ashamed of. At the end of the day, your safety or welfare was seriously challenged without you having any control over that. I’m just so grateful that,… as far as I’m aware, no one died as a result of this,” she added.

Spotting PTSD

She advised the community to look out for signs of of PTSD, which can include constantly focusing on what happened and reliving that incident, and having repetitive memories or flashbacks that are hard to control which are starting to intrude into people’s everyday lives.

“There may be some sleep disturbance, people may experience nightmares. They may feel very anxious, very nervous, a little bit irritable, having difficulty concentrating,” she said, adding some other signs may be deliberately avoiding company or not going to work.

Some people, she said, may be a bit fearful about going to school, or going to a social activity, or even being outside of the home.

These are things that, she said, tend to happen maybe a few weeks to a month after the event, which is why it is important to be aware of the signs of someone struggling.

“We really need to be mindful as well as that people may have increased use of alcohol or illicit drugs as a coping mechanism. While this increase in alcohol might be okay in the short term,… we know that that definitely has negative consequences. Alcohol is a depressant,” she said.

This, she said, is not a good way to manage problems or manage issues.

“We just encourage you to be aware of that and again reach out for help if you need it,” she stressed.

Meanwhile Infinite Mindcare and CayMind will jointly be holding a free trauma group session on Thursday, 29 Feb. for those who were present at, or severely affected by, the Ed Bush Stadium shooting.

The session will be held in two groups – ages 13 and under at 4pm, and ages 14 and older at 6pm.

Sutton Burke, owner and clinical director of Infinite Mindcare, speaking on the free sessions, said the mass shooting on Sunday was the first of its kind in Cayman and she and her team wanted to offer support to those who may be struggling.

“Cayman is such a special place. While we do have our fair share of social and economic issues, we are still an island like no other in the world. We love our Cayman people and deeply care about the community’s mental health. We want to help maintain the Cayman spirit, Caymankind, Cayman resiliency, Cayman strength, in any way we can,” she said.

Those interested in joining the session are required to register here.

Mental health resources

If you, or others you know, are struggling with issues similar to those raised by this article, there are resources available to help.

• In an emergency, call 911.
• Mental Health Helpline. Call 1-800-534-6463 (MIND) Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, to talk. The helpline was established during the pandemic to provide support.
• The Alex Panton Foundation. The non-profit’s primary objective is “raising awareness of mental illnesses affecting children and young adults in the Cayman Islands with a particular focus on anxiety and depression”.
• Department of Children and Family Services. For non-critical services provided by the department, email [email protected] or call 949-0290 in Grand Cayman and 948-2331 in Cayman Brac, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm.
• The Cayman Islands Crisis Centre. The charity provides support to all victims of domestic violence via “services and programmes focusing on domestic and sexual abuse”. Among its services are providing shelter, counselling, a 24/7 crisis helpline (943-2422) and a kids’ helpline (649-5437).
• There are a number of private health care providers offering counselling and support, such as Infinite Mind Care and the Wellness Centre.