Murdered on way to cousin’s funeral

UPDATE:

IN a tragic turn of events, 31-year-old labourer Cirn Joseph aka “Africa” of Dan Kelly, Picton Road in Laventille, left home to attend the funeral of his cousin, but never arrived.

According to reports, at about 10.10 am yesterday, Joseph and his uncle were at Eastern Main Road in Laventille waiting for a taxi to take them to Manzanilla, to attend the funeral, when a black Nissan Almera pulled up alongside them. Two men came out of the vehicle with guns blazing shooting.

Joseph was shot several times, while his uncle managed to escape by hiding behind a wall. Members of the Inter Agency Task Force were on foot patrol at Quarry Street when they heard the gunfire. They reportedly saw the vehicle speeding off. Upon checking, they found Joseph on the road.

Investigators described Joseph as an affiliate of a gang from the Laventille area. Members of the Homicide Bureau Region One, accompanied by ASP Gould and Snr Supt Cooper, went to the scene with a doctor who examined Joseph’s body and ordered its removal to the Forensic Science Centre for autopsy. Investigators said Joseph was shot about 23 times.

Newsday spoke with Joseph’s relatives who denied reports that he was a relative of Kevon Joseph aka “Fish”, who was gunned down on Hermitage Road in Belmont on Monday. However, the relatives said they believed this was a reprisal killing.

They said Joseph was a dedicated father to his five children. His grandmother said she was heartbroken by the killing and described him as a “very good boy.”

“Right now I’m besides myself. If they (the killers) succeeded, they would have killed my son along with my grandson. We don’t know why anyone would want to do this to Cirn. He was a very loving, family-oriented person,” the grandmother said.

She said the family is grieving even more after the loss of Joseph and his cousin less than a week apart. She and her relatives were notified of Joseph’s murder while the funeral service was still in progress. Joseph’s murder brought the national toll to 240 compared to 224 for the same period last year.

ORIGINAL STORY:

In a tragic turn of events, 31-year-old labourer Cirn Joseph aka "Africa" of Dan Kelly, Picton, Laventille was shot and killed while waiting on a maxi taxi to attend his cousin's funeral.

According to reports, at around 10.10 am Joseph, along with his uncle, was standing along the Eastern Main Road in Laventille waiting for a taxi just outside the Laventille Science and Technology Institute.

The two were headed to Manzanilla to attend his cousin's funeral when a black Nissan Almera pulled up alongside the men.

Two men came out of the vehicle shooting at both Joseph and his uncle.

Joseph was shot several times, while his uncle managed to escape the attack by hiding behind a wall.