Three murders rock east Trinidad

AT least three men were murdered in east Trinidad on Saturday, with unconfirmed reports of a fourth man being shot dead in Laventille.

The police confirmed two deaths at La Horquetta and one at St John's Road, St Augustine.

Rico Pavy, 29, of Daisy Lane, La Horquetta, and Kevon Prescott, 35, of Petra Crescent, La Horquetta, were each shot dead by unknown assailants in separate incidents.

Regarding Pavy, the police said at 10 pm on Saturday they got a report of loud explosions at a house at Daisy Lane and upon their arrival there they were shown his body by a relative.

The scene was cordoned off and the police interviewed individuals present.

Witnesses said, at 9.55 pm, Pavy was standing in his yard when a man clad in a long-sleeved green t-shirt and black pants approached him, pointed a firearm at him and shot, with two loud explosions heard. Pavi then fell to the ground and the suspect escaped in an unknown direction.

The police recovered two spent 9 mm shell casings, several blood samples and swabs of the victim's left and right hands.

Regarding Prescott, at 12.58 am on Saturday night/Sunday morning the police received a report of loud explosions at Petra Crescent, to where officers then went.

They spoke to a relative of the victim who told them what had happened. The relative was at home with Prescott who heard someone call out to him from outside the home and then opened the gallery door and walked out into the yard. The relative then heard several loud explosions and soon after discovered Prescott lying motionless on ground in the yard, with multiple apparent gunshot wounds to his head.

Northern Division crime scene investigation (CSI) personnel recovered seven spent shell casings of 9 mm calibre, three projectiles, a silver knife without a handle and a pair of black slippers. Enquiries are continuing.

Regarding Phillip, the police report he was shot dead by two men in his neighbourhood of St John's Road on Saturday morning.

Another man with him was wounded but survived to tell the police what had happened.

The police recovered 31 spent shells of 5.56 mm calibre bullets, a type used in military-grade assault rifles.

The police said that at 9.40 am they received reports of loud explosions at St John Road and upon responding they found a Toyota pick-up with the dead man in the passenger seat. Unknown people took the other man to Mount Hope Hospital for medical treatment, where police officers from St Joseph CID went to interview him.

The surviving victim told the police that at 9 am on Saturday he was driving his vehicle south along St John Road with Phillip in the passenger seat, when upon reaching a shop two men pointed guns at them and apparently fired, with several loud explosions heard. The survivor became frightened and drove to the army base on St John Road to seek help.

He was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Complex where he was treated for gunshot wounds to his upper back and the back of his head and was listed in a stable condition.

Phillip's body was viewed and pronounced dead by the district medical officer (DMO) who ordered it to be removed and this was then done by a funeral home.

The scene was processed by the Special Evidence Recovery Unit (SERU) where 31 spent shells of 5.56 calibre ammunition were recovered. Enquiries are continuing.

An unconfirmed report on social media reported that a man from La Puerta Avenue in Diego Martin was shot dead at St Paul Street, Laventille, on Saturday night.