Raheem Sterling’s father was shot dead in Jamaica on his way to a wake for three young girls killed by a reckless driver, it has emerged.
The England player this week defended having a tattoo of an assault rifle inked on his leg by saying it was a tribute to his father, who died when his son was two.
Phillip Slayter lived in Kingston until he was killed at the age of 29, when he was shot several times while crossing a ‘gang border’ in 1996.
The murder of the Manchester City star’s father, who was said to be ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’, has never been solved, The Times reports.
Raheem Sterling pictured in Jamaica, where his father was shot dead in Kingston on his way to a wake for three young girls killed by a reckless driver, it has been revealed
23-year-old Sterling said the new tattoo reflected a vow he made to ‘never touch a gun’ after his father was shot dead in Kingston.
Mr Slayter was said to be on his way to a vigil for three girls who had been run over in a crash which had caused heartbreak in the local community.
He was reportedly shot by ‘armed men’ while crossing the city’s Washington Boulevard, a boundary between the territory of rival gangs.
One former neighbour said: ‘He was always telling his family that he would be the one to make life better for them.’
Mr Slayter’s sister, Jean Wallace, told the newspaper that his death had ‘left a void in our lives’, saying his death on the way to the wake was a double tragedy.
He was apparently keen on football himself but never had the chance to pursue his own playing career.
Sterling, 23, pictured at an England training session, said the new tattoo reflected a vow he made to ‘never touch a gun’ after his father was shot dead in Kingston
Raheem Sterling received the support of girlfriend Paige Milian and the FA over his gun tattoo
Sterling was forced to defend his new tattoo of an assault rifle after anti-gun campaigners branded it ‘sick’.
The design of an M16 assault rifle was shared with his 3.6million Instagram followers just weeks before Sterling heads for the World Cup with England.
He was also pictured with the tattoo while training with England at St George’s Park in Staffordshire ahead of this summer’s World Cup in Russia.
Lucy Cope, of Mothers Against Guns, said it was ‘sickening’ that he was showing off the inking to his followers.
Iffat Rizvi, of the Starr anti-gun campaign, said: ‘This is disrespectful to young people who lost their lives. How can he do this in the current climate of gang violence?’
But Sterling wrote on Instagram: ‘When I was two, my father died from being gunned down to death. I made a promise to myself I would never touch a gun in my lifetime.
‘I shoot with my right foot so it has a deeper meaning and is still unfinished.’