Homicide detectives are continuing investigations into four murders which occurred over the recent Eid-ul-Fitr weekend. The victims have been identified as:
• Floyd Mahase, 50, of Derrick Road, Chase Village, Chaguanas;
• Kriss Martin, 19, of Francis Lane, Laventille;
• Nikoma Samuel, 26, Eastern Quarry, Laventille; and
• Dexter Absolum, 20, of Red Hill, D’Abadie.
The latest murders came on the heels of the Emancipation Day long weekend, in which nine people were murdered at various locations in Trinidad during four days. The murder toll for the year stood at 234 up to late yesterday. In the first incident, Mahase was found beaten and unconscious in a drain behind his home on Thursday night. He died from his injuries while receiving treatment at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, on Friday.
Investigators believe Mahase, a drug addict, was attacked by a group of men after stealing a cellphone. Around 7.45 pm last Thursday, Martin was walking along Trou Macaque Road, Laventille, when he was approached by a gunman who shot him several times. He died on the scene. A little over 24 hours after he was killed, Samuel and his friend, Ricardo Jones, were walking near the Priority Bus Route, near Beetham Gardens, when they were accosted by a group of gunmen who shot them several times.
Samuel died near the scene of the shooting, while Jones, who was hit on his leg, was taken to hospital where he received treatment. In another incident, Absolum was shot dead around 9 am on Saturday while he was painting a wall at a businessplace near his home. Police sources said yesterday no one had been arrested in connection with the four murders.
Meanwhile, police are investigating a shooting spree in Port-of-Spain on Sunday morning which left four men warded in hospital nursing gunshot injuries. According to police reports, around 9 am on Sunday, the occupants of a car which was driving along Nelson Street, Port-of-Spain, began shooting randomly at residents and pedestrians who were walking at the side of the road. Mark Gibbs, 18, of George Street, Port-of-Spain; Jeremiah Douglas, 30, of Diego Martin and 49-year-old Daryl Clement, of Laventille, were shot.
Gibbs was hit on his right leg, Douglas on his right foot and Clement on his shoulder. The car then sped off. The trio was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where they remained warded up to yesterday. Less than 30 minutes after the shooting, police spotted the vehicle parked along the Beetham Highway, Sea Lots. Investigators said the occupants were seen shooting at a unidentified man who was hiding in a drain. The man escaped unscathed.
The officers attempted to apprehend the gunmen but a shootout ensued, during which the gunmen managed to escape.