Already mourning the death of his close friend, Shakeel Bethel, a 32-year-old San Fernando mason was gunned down at a wake on Wednesday night. Police identified the victim as Clyde Welch. They said Welch dove into the sea along Old Trainline, San Fernando, to escape the gunfire from an attacker but after the ordeal, his friends found him floating in the water. With his death, the murder toll up to yesterday stood at 230, approximately nine short of last year’s figure at this time. Police reports said Welch had gone to the wake of Bethel, who was shot dead on Saturday night outside the G Spot nightclub, Cipero Street, San Fernando, to pay respect to his fallen friend with others.
Around 11.30 pm, Welch wandered a short distance away and was approached by a gunman who fired one shot which struck him in his upper body. Eyewitnesses said Welch ran but the gunman followed him to the waterfront and fired more shots before escaping through a track. A melancholic mood filled his Clarke Street, Springvale, home yesterday, where relatives recalled he complained about death threats. A dejected Carl Welch told the T&T Guardian he never thought someone would have executed such a heinous act on his brother.
Carl, a fisherman, said he was at sea when he got a phone call, saying his brother was shot and by the time he reached ashore, Welch was already dead. “He said he had a threat to his life. I can’t really say why but he said someone was out for him. I knew he was frightened because he was not himself. He changed a bit this week,” Carl said. Although he was described as a peaceful person, relatives said even if he had offended anyone he did not deserve to be murdered.
Up to yesterday police had not arrested a suspect and residents said although they could not identify the shooter, the person had to be someone who knew the area, as he knew which tracks to pass through to get in and out of the community. Carl’s wife, Jennifer Collymore, who was at Bethel’s wake, said when the shots rang out mourners had to scamper. “I was down by the wake and when I heard the shots, people just started to scatter... fall on the ground... lying down. “Nobody didn’t really watch back to see who was there. They were just looking to run,” she said. Relatives said Welch was a hardworking father who took care of his seven-year-old son Emmanuel.