TEACHER KILLED BY HUSBAND – Murder, suicide near school rocks San Fernando

A 42-year-old teacher from San Fernando died in hospital on Friday morning after her estranged husband ambushed and shot her multiple times, then turned the gun on himself.

Keisha-Marina Bostic, of Drayton Street, died shortly after 7 am.

Her estranged husband Shamzard Mohammed, of Reece Road in Barrackpore, died in the yard of her family's home.

The police found a gun with ammunition next to the body.

Distraught relatives who gathered at the house said the couple married in January. Bostic was staying in Barrackpore but returned about two months ago to live at her family's home in San Fernando.

The house is metres away from the Anstey Memorial Girls' Anglican School. A few students could be seen on the school grounds.

The police said at around 6.30 am, Bostic was driving her car out of the yard to head to work at a secondary school in Point Fortin.

Mohammed blocked her pathway with his car, confronted her and shot her several times.

Relatives took her to the San Fernando General Hospital. Bostic was also an attorney.

Mohammed, 40, who worked as a contractor, then shot himself. The police said he had a firearm user's licence.

Bostic's mother, Marva Bostic, was inconsolable as she sat on a chair and waited for the police to remove Mohammed's body from her yard.

People surrounded her and tried to comfort her. She did not mince words in expressing her grief and anger, calling on the police to get "that garbage" out of her yard. She also made suggestions as to what should be done with his body.

"He did it because she left him," the bereaved mother said.

Marva recalled leaving the house at around 5.30 am on Friday. She got a call about the tragedy around 7 am and returned.

Marva Bostic has now lost both her adult children to gun violence.

Her son Daniel Kenneth Bostic, 35, was shot and killed on July 1, 2015, in the Juma Masjid in San Fernando. The police said a man walked up from behind and shot him. The father of two fell to the ground, and the gunman shot him several more times before running away. That shooting happened in the month of Ramadan.

No one has been arrested for Daniel's killing.

On the latest murder, senior superintendent of the Southern Division Richard Smith offered condolences to the Bostic family and "all the other families concerned in this tragedy."

"We pray that our nation recovers from all the violence we see. We are asking that people exercise restraint, compassion, and love in responding to situations," Smith told Newsday.

Although the couple were estranged, the police said no related domestic-violence reports had been filed at any police station in the division.

Smith said the police regularly patrol the district, especially in school zones.

Southern Division police including Insps Phillip and Lewis were at the scene. Homicide Bureau Region III police including Supt Dhillpaul, Insp Jones, acting Sgt Deo, Cpl Smith and PC Ramoutar also visited and gathered evidence.

San Fernando major Junia Regrello met the Bostic family and offered condolences. He said Bostic was a former secretary of the PNM's San Fernando West constituency group. He also referred to her as a hardworking and committed young woman. Bostic's mother was also a PNM activist.

"This is another murder that would add to the growing number that we are disturbed about. There are so many stories of what went on. The fact is a mother lost another child. Let us hope that our main focus should be to be responsible and get our act together," Regrello said. "There is no right way to do the wrong thing. Two families are now suffering because of the indiscretion of one person."

On Friday afternoon, Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby- Dolly, Minister in the Ministry Lisa Morris-Julian, as well as the executive team and staff of the ministry offered their "deepest condolences" to the bereaved family.

A post from the ministry via its social media pages said Bostic was a teacher at the Point Fortin East Secondary School.

The post added, "The Student Support Services Division of the ministry has been informed of the tragic incident and will provide all the necessary support to the staff and students during this difficult time. May her soul rest in peace."

The TT Unified Teachers' Association (TTUTA) also took to social media to mourn the death of its "fallen comrade."

The association also offered heartfelt condolences to Bostic's colleagues, students, family and friends.

"Words cannot express the sorrow and sadness we feel at the passing of our comrade, Keisha-Marina Bostic. We acknowledge and appreciate her contribution to the education sector," a Facebook post from TUTTA said.

"Our prayer is that God comforts you during this difficult period. May your hearts find solace in remembering her light, beauty and laughter."

The Institute of Law and Academic Studies, commonly called ILAS, based in Chaguanas, also took to social media about Bostic's murder.

"Brutally snatched away from us. RIP Keisha. Condolences to your loved ones. This is all we can say at this time," the post said, followed by an emoji of a broken heart.

Friday's murder-suicide is not the first for the year.

On April 1, primary schoolteacher Amar Deobarran, 41, chopped and killed his wife Omatie, 36, at their home at Oropouche South Trace, Barrackpore. The mother of two worked as a supervisor at Bankers Insurance Ltd in Chaguanas. Deobarran drank poison and died hours after the attack.

Two weeks later, on April 16, Coast Guard officer Kester Williams shot and killed his wife, Sharsa Alfonso-David, and himself at their home at Edinburgh 500 in Chaguanas. Both were 47. Alfonso-David was a deputy general secretary of the Banking, Insurance and General Workers' Union (BIGWU) in Barataria.