Young father among two shot dead in Mt Hope – KILLED NEAR NEWBORNS

LESS than a month after he celebrated the birth of twin sons, a father of three was among two men shot dead not too far from the twins' Mt Hope home on Saturday night. A third man, also shot in the incident, survived and remains warded in hospital.

Police said Keston Cumberbatch, 31, was liming with Anton Young, 44, and another friend along Sorillo Drive, at around 8.35 pm, when they were approached by two masked gunmen who opened fire without warning before running away.

The attack happened a mere walking distance from where Cumberbatch's twin sons were staying with his girlfriend.

Neighbours who heard the gunshots, took the three bleeding men to hospital where Cumberbatch and Young were declared dead on arrival. The third man was treated for a gunshot wound to his left leg and is warded in stable condition.

St Joseph police and officers from the Special Evidence Recovery Unit (SERU) visited the scene and found seven spent shells and two live rounds of ammunition.

Newsday visited the scene and spoke with Cumberbatch's mother Beverly Herry who said she was devastated by her son's murder and is certain he was not involved in criminality.

Herry said her son stopped to lime with friends at a birthday party nearby and she believes another man who was also at the party was the real target of the gunmen.

"He was just outside when the gunmen came up and shot behind the guy they actually came for. My boy just happened to be close.

"I can't explain but it's something I wouldn't wish on anybody, it's really hurting me as a mother to know my son who was really quiet, who wasn't in anything and was taking a little lime before coming home, could lose his life so easy. It's just unbearable.

"I hope we can get justice at least for his children. My son didn't deserve this."

Herry said she was in St Joseph at the time of the attack but quickly returned home when she heard about the shooting from a relative.

"I called my other son who said he was good, but before I could call Keston, someone called me to say he got shot.

"I got down the road and got a drop home when they told me they had taken him to the hospital.

"By the time I got there they told me he had passed, they said he didn't have a chance because he got a head shot. I saw him in a body bag...I couldn't believe that was my child."

Herry said Cumberbatch was the father of a three-year-old girl and twin boys born on February 11.

Another relative said Cumberbatch was on his way to check on his newborn sons at his girlfriend's home nearby when he stopped to lime at the birthday party nearby.

Relatives vowed that the family will band together to provide physical and emotional support to Cumberbatch's children and his girlfriend Amy Ramnauth.

Herry said Cumberbatch worked in the Forestry Division in St Joseph and was considering planting small crops to help support his family.

Newsday later spoke to Young's mother Gillian Young, who said she was deeply hurt by his murder.

Young said her son sold water and she remembered him as a successful vendor and devoted father to his four-year-old daughter.

"He just started to do a little business out there selling water and he was doing good with it so I don't know why this happened.

"He would come home and spend time with his daughter and would be inside watching television until he goes to bed.

"Nowadays you just can't get angry with anybody, I don't know if he was angry with anybody, but people don't like to see others getting ahead. He was quiet, he had a lot of customers and he was very friendly."

Young said she remembered hearing the gunshots and originally thought it was fireworks. She grew concerned when while peering through her bedroom window, she saw people running away.

She then tried to call her son on his cellphone but got no response. Young said she did not realise that by that time, he was already dead.

Over the weekend, starting from Friday, there were at least five murders:

* Aneesa Ramkissoon, 26, a mother of three who was shot dead outside her St Augustine home on Friday at 1pm.

* Jeremiah Antoine was shot dead on Friday night in Richplain, Diego Martin.

* Christopher Williams, shot dead on Saturday in Sangre Grande.

* Keston Cumberbatch, 31, and Anton Young, 44, shot dead on Saturday night in Mt Hope.

Up to press time, no arrest had been made in the murders of Cumberbatch and Young and the murder toll as of Sunday stood at 108. Homicide Investigations Bureau detectives are continuing investigations into all of these five weekend murders.

Autopsies are expected to be done over the course of this week at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.

Editor's Note:

This is an update to an earlier story published in Newsday's online paper and its other social media handles. The original story, as published online, can be read below.

A SHOOTING Saturday night led to the deaths of two men and the wounding of a third in Mt Hope.

Police said Keston Cumberbatch, 31, and Anton Young, 40, were liming with a friend at Sorillo Drive, Mt Hope, at around 8.35 pm when they were confronted by two masked gunmen who shot them several times before running away.

Passers by took the three to hospital where Cumberbatch and Young were declared dead at around 9 pm.

The third man received treatment for a gunshot wound to his left leg and remained warded in stable condition.

St Joseph police and a team of officers from the Special Evidence Recovery Unit (SERU) visited the scene.

Investigations are continuing.