Cat helps toddler escape death in Tunapuna shooting

THE curiosity of one-year-old Varian Walker, the son of one of two men shot dead in Tunapuna last weekend, may have saved his life.

At the Forensic Science Centre in St James, relatives of Victor Walker, the toddler's father, told reporters he was at the scene of the shooting where Walker and Kishan Carmona were killed, but wandered out of the house when he saw a kitten.

Moments later gunmen stormed the house on Back Street, murdered Carmona and Walker, and wounded another man.

The child's grandmother, Dianne Roberts, told Newsday the child had cats at his home, which was not far from where the shooting occurred.

"He would normally hug his cat and play with it, so when he saw the cat he must have gotten excited," Roberts said, "If it wasn't for that cat, he might have died in that shooting too."

At about 9 pm on Saturday, Carmona, Walker and 34-year-old Damien Phillips,were liming at a house on Back Street, Tunapuna, when gunmen ambushed and shot them.

Carmona and Walker were shot in the chest and stomach, and died at the scene. Phillips, who was hit in both legs, is being treated at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex.