A 35-year-old St Barb’s, Laventille, man was gunned down on Monday night, after he was called out of his home by men he thought were his friends and shot in the head. Dwyane Slocum, police reports stated, had received a telephone call earlier but when he complied with a request to meet the callers he was shot near his Sandy Trace, St Barb’s, home. Slocum, alias “Dash,” was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Speaking outside the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday, a male relative, who did not want to be identified, said Slocum was friendly with both sides of the waring gangs in the area. He added that may have lead to his death as one group may have believed he had “gone against” them. The visibly upset man said he had seen many murders in his community but never thought it would have hit home, since he and his family were not involved in illegality.
He added that his son was now contemplating moving out of his home because of the violence in the area. The relative said Slocum was a “bright fella” who worked at a bank and a hotel in the past and was the father of two. Slocum’s youngest child is due to sit the Secondary School Entrance Assessment (SEA) next month while his eldest is a Form Three Trinity College pupil.
Police said yesterday although Slocum was not known to be involved in any gang activity, they had labelled the killing as gang-related. The murder toll now stands at 129.