The shooting deaths of a 17-year-old boy and two men have pushed the murder toll to 150, an almost 18 per cent increase in the murder rate from last year. The murder toll for the comparable period last year stood at 123. Christon Gomez, of Rampersad Trace, Vega de Oropouche, was asleep in a shack at Albans’ Quarry, Cumaca Road, Sangre Grande, on Monday night when several shots were heard around 7.30 pm.
His bullet-riddled body was discovered moments later. Police said the teen, who attended the Manzanilla High School and was in Form Three, had several matters pending for robbery, possession of narcotics and gun-related offences before the court. Police believe the killer knew him.
Speaking with the media at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday, Gomez’s mother Khristy Moore, 33, said the eldest of her three children was following bad company but she had spoken to him about it in the past and he assured her all was well. “He was a good boy, you know but it was just wrong company that led him astray. He was bright, he was loving and he was energetic,” she added.
She said her son wanted to be a computer technician since he was good at computer repairs but was working at the quarry as a labourer and lived near his jobsite. Moore said Gomez’s death has left the family broken and they are “just trying to hold it together.” Also speaking with the media yesterday were relatives of Brian Antoine, 26, who was shot dead on Monday night. They described Antoine as a quiet person who had trouble with the law in the past because of the bad company he kept.
The relatives, who asked not to be identified, said Antoine, who lived at Pinto Road, Arima, decided to change his life because he was tired of associating with the wrong crowd. Around 3.55 am yesterday residents of the area heard gunshots and called the Pinto Road Police Post. Police found Antoine dead with bullet wounds to his back, abdomen and left arm. In the third killing, police say Hasley Baptiste, 37, died at the Eric Williams Medical Complex, Mt Hope, after being shot twice during a robbery at his home.
Baptiste, a security officer, was at his El Socorro Main Road home around 1 pm on Sunday when two men forced their way in. During a struggle with the intruders Baptiste was shot twice. His attackers took his gold chain and wristband before escaping. Baptiste’s wife took him to the hospital where he died around 5 pm.