405 murders since January

UPDATED:

Two more murders over the weekend have raised the murder toll to 405 for the year.

In one case, a father witnessed his son’s last breath after he was shot in Enterprise on Friday, and in the other, a Cocorite man was shot and stabbed near his home on Sunday evening.

The two have been identified as Sayid Callendar of Cocorite Terrace, Cocorite and Ivan Parris of Bhagaloo Trace, Enterprise, Chaguanas.

Parris died in his father’s arms on Friday at about 10 pm. Reports are that he was at home when he was shot.

His father Irvin Parris, hearing the gunshots, looked outside, saw his son lying on the ground and went to help him.

One of Parris’ relatives yesterday told Newsday just as he was taking his last breath, the gunman approached his father and pointed the gun at him.

“He just looked up at the gunman and said, ‘You took my only son,’ and the gunman ran off. That was his first-born and only son. He loved that boy more than anything in the world,” the relative said. Newsday was told although Parris was his father’s first son, he was the last of his mother’s five children. His mother, who was at work when Parris was shot, was told about the incident over the phone.

Both parents were too distraught to speak to reporters yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre in St James, but other relatives described Parris as a loving person who did everything he could for his family.

Callendar, 21, was outside his home with friends when he was shot and stabbed by two men.

He was taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital where he died.

His mother Michelle told Newsday she was at her home in Carenage when she got a call which no mother would want to hear — that her son had been killed.

She recalled fond memories of the family kicking ball in nearby parks and having fun when her son was younger, and described him as a loving person who cared very deeply for his family.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Two more murders which occurred over the weekend have raised the murder toll to 405 for the year.

In one case, a father was left to witness his son’s last breath after he was shot on Bhagaloo Trace, Enterprise on Friday last, and in the other, a Cocorite man was shot and stabbed to death near his home on Sunday evening.

The two deceased men have been identified as Ivan Parriss, of Bhagaloo Trace, Enterprise Chaguanas, and Sayid Callendar, from Cocorite Terrace, Cocorite. Investigations are now ongoing in both murders.

Stay with Newsday for more information, and read the full story in tomorrow's paper.