Mother of murdered Malabar man: I warned him about the long weekend

Indrani Fernandez, the mother of a murdered Malabar man,
says one of her last messages to her son before his death was to be careful during the holiday weekend.

Fernandez's son Gerome was one of two men who were gunned down early on Monday morning at an apartment building in Ackbarali West, Malabar.

Another man, 25-year-old Tureek Raymond, who rented another apartment in the building, was also killed.

A 29-year-old man was shot and wounded and remained in critical condition up to press time on Tuesday.

Speaking with Newsday at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on Tuesday, the elder Fernandez said she knew there was an uptick in murders over holiday weekends and warned her son to be extremely careful.

"I warned him that it was a long weekend. I told him to be careful, I told him you don't know who is out there who could do you anything.

"He said, 'Yes, Mammy.'

"I never experienced a pain like this before, because I never lost a son before this, but now I got to experience what mothers go through when this happens. I start to feel a belly pain like when I was making Gerome. My belly was just rolling, I just fell down and started bawling.

"The crime is getting worse."

Fernandez said the nature of her son's murder was deeply unsettling, She was not sure what else could be done to curb crime.

She said Fernandez worked as a mason to support his two-year-old daughter.

Newsday also spoke to Curtis Raymond, the father of Tureek Raymond, who said he was also shaken at the boldness of criminals

"I honestly believe we are like the lambs to the slaughter right now, because they are coming inside your house to take you. It's not like they are waiting for you to come outside to take you, they're kicking down your door and killing you."

Raymond said he was not optimistic the police would be able to find the perpetrators and questioned why there were so many illegal guns entering the country.

Police from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region II are continuing enquiries.