Tunapuna vendor shot dead

A 55-year-old Tunapuna vendor man was yesterday shot dead while selling near his home on Green Street.

Northern Division Police were called out to a report of gunshots heard on Balthazar and Green Streets, at about 11.35 am.

When police arrived, they found Wayne Clarke, lying on the ground with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to his head.

While police are still trying to find a motive for the shooting, one of the theories they are working on is that he may have been a witness to another murder, and was silenced.

Police told Newsday yesterday that Clarke was known to them, and had been released from prison 21 years ago.

Relatives who were at the scene yesterday described Clarke as a “cool person” and added he was also employed at the Tunapuna Corporation for about 15 years. Relatives added that he was the father of a 33-year-old woman.

Newsday attempted to speak to Clarke’s daughter, but she said she was too distraught to speak.

An autopsy is expected to be performed on Clarke’s body at the Forensic Science Centre in St James today, to confirm the cause of his death.