The murder toll rose to 145 over the weekend after three murders between Saturday and yesterday. The latest victim, who was killed around 5.15 am yesterday in Laventille, is yet to be identified, while the other two were identified as Clinton “Maggas” Francis and Matthew “Polly” Phillip. In the first incident, around 1 pm on Saturday, residents of Belle Eau Road, Belmont, reported hearing gunshots and later contacted the police.
Officers arrived at Walcott Lane to find Phillip’s body on some concrete steps which lead to nearby hillside houses. Phillip, who had been shot several times in the chest and back, died instantly, police said. Investigating officers said Phillip, 43, of Rhyner Street, Laventille, worked as a maxi-taxi tout and had reportedly gone to visit a friend when he was shot.
Senior officers yesterday said while they had not yet established a motive, Phillip was not known to them. The second murder occurred at La Croix Avenue, Malabar, around 9 pm on Saturday, as Francis was standing on the roadway. Francis, 30, of Coconut Drive, Malabar, was shot several times. Officers remained unsure yesterday as to why he had gone to the location and who or what he was waiting for.
Francis was also shot in the chest and back and died at the scene. And even as joint army and police patrols continue in Laventille, an unidentified man was shot dead as he walked through a track leading off Pashley Street. Police said residents of Hackett Lane were alerted by gunshots around 5.15 am yesterday.
Besson Street police arrived on the scene to find the body of the unidentified man face down in the mud...The victim, clad only in a pair of blue denim jeans and slippers, had been shot once in the chest. District medical officers visited the scenes before ordering the bodies removed. Autopsies are expected to be conducted today at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on the bodies of Francis and Phillip. Meanwhile, police are appealing to the public for help in identifying the man killed in Laventille.