Family: Victims were innocent

THE two men shot dead in Beetham Gardens Monday night have been identified as Alvin Gyan, 33, and Abraham Quamina, 20, both from the area.

Their relatives yesterday claimed both men were innocent bystanders who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when gunmen drew their weapons and fired on limers near a bar off Main Street.

Gyan’s brother Simon Samaroo said he was returning from work but decided to stop off at a bar on Pashley Street. As he was leaving to head to his home on First Street, the gunmen arrived.

“A car pulled up and two fellas jumped out and just so they started to shoot. They left over a hundred shells on the ground,” an eyewitness said. “I don’t know who they came for but I know it wasn’t them two who got killed since they were not in anything. The gunmen killed the wrong man,” said the eyewitness who asked not to be identified.

Relatives said Gyan lived a simple life, going straight to work from 8 am and coming home at 10 pm. They said the only reason he was in the area was because his workplace, Plus Parts, had closed early that night. They added that he was a friendly and jovial person.

Quamina’s relatives said he was dropping his girlfriend home when the gunmen started shooting. Newsday was told that Quamina was the cousin of Keron “Fish” Joseph, who was gunned down hours earlier on Monday in Belmont. Quamina’s relatives insisted there was no link between Fish’s murder and Quamina’s slaying. Autopsies at the Forensic Science Centre in St James confirmed that Samaroo died from a gunshot wound to the chest, while Quamina died from multiple gunshot wounds.