Bodies drop: Three killed in 24 hours

Police from the Port of Spain and Western Divisions were kept busy up to midday, as three people were shot and killed hours apart, beginning with a taxi driver on Nelson Street, Port of Spain on Monday afternoon.

The most recent killing took place at around 10.50 am,when Sea Lots resident Nigel Francisco, 52, was gunned down outside his Pioneer Drive home.

Police said gunmen visited Francisco's home and told him and his family to leave. His relatives left, but he chose to stay. Francisco was shot in the head several times outside his house around 7 am.

Members of the Besson Street police, the Inter Agency Task Force and Port of Spain CID went to the scene. Police said they believe Francisco's killing may be linked to a theft in which a close relative may have been suspected.

Hours earlier at Duncan Street, corn soup vendor Leopold Adams was shot and killed while watering his plants outside his apartment. Adams, 56, was shot several times by gunmen at around 4.45 am.

Newsday spoke to Adams' daughter Rae Ann at the Forensic Science Centre, St James. She said she did not know why anyone would want to kill her father, describing him as a gentle, caring man who cared for the homeless.

"After selling his soup on afternoons, he would stop by these homeless shelters and give out to those in need. I really don't know why anyone would want him dead."

The younger Adams said she lived next door to her father and was awoken by the sound of gunfire this morning.

On Monday at around 9 pm, taxi driver Tyrone Joseph, 44, was returning home to Smith Hill, Carenage, when he was shot and killed. Police were called and Joseph was declared dead at the scene.

Newsday spoke to one of Joseph's relatives who said she would remember him as a calm, easygoing person.

"He was a really cool person. He didn't take any c--p from anyone. Once you were straight with him, it would be fine."