[UPDATED] Man killed while walking outside wake in Trainline, St Augustine

As deadly attacks in Trainline Village, St Augustine, continue, a 26-year-old man is the latest victim in the community.

Kris Pooran, is the sixth person to be gunned down in the community since his cousin, 16-year-old Darshan Ramnauth was murdered on January 24.

Pooran was walking to his home when he passed the wake of another murder victim, Dillon Joseph, at around 10.30 pm on Warner Street, when a car drove near the gathering.

Two gunmen got out of the car and shot at the crowd.

Pooran was shot several several times.

A 29-year-old man who was at the wake was also wounded.

The attackers got back in the car and drove off. People at the wake took both men to the hospital where Pooran was declared dead at around 11 pm.

He was shot several times in the head, back and chest. The wounded man received a bullet graze to his head. He is in stable condition.

Police from the Special Evidence Recovery Unit (SERU) visited the scene and found 34 5.56mm shells.

Speaking with Newsday at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on Thursday, Pooran's relatives who asked not to be identified said they were particularly saddened as he did not even attend the wake and was killed for simply being in the area at the time of the shooting.

One relative said while they did not expect Pooran to be targeted by gunmen, they still warned him and his siblings to be careful when coming home at certain times of the day.

"The van dropped him off where they were walking in and that's when the fellas came and started to shoot.

"After work he goes to play cricket.

"Normally he goes to play cricket and sometimes after they play they would stay and lime.

"From the first set of murders I warned all of them to get in the house by 7 pm in the night.

"The guy who carries him for cricket usually drops him off back home so we didn't think this would happen."

Earlier this week the relatives of murdered vendor Dillon Joseph said the spate of killings in the community have caused residents to observe an unofficial curfew.

One of Pooran's relatives said residents avoided going outside from as early as midday as almost all of the attacks happened in the afternoon.

They also said Pooran's murder was the breaking point of several residents who have decided to leave.

"It's like a jail there.

"I live on Freeman Road with my family and right now the property there is for sale.

"Whenever I hear something loud I just start to shake.

"People are inside whole day, whole night, people want to be off the streets its like a ghost town now.

"I just sit down at my house or behind my house when I get home from work.

"I always keep my children in view of me when I'm home and they are all grown men and women."

One relative said the family was still mourning the murder of Darshan Ramnauth and were unsettled by the continued violence.

Pooran's family said he worked as a woodworker to support his six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.

The family was also critical of the police response to the murders as they felt a more proactive approach was needed to restoring order in the area.

They lamented that despite the continued bloodshed, they have not seen a more visible police presence and called for the assignment of a mobile police post.

Newsday visited the neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon and saw the narrow streets and tracks that made up the community of Trainline Village were mostly empty.

A few police were seen questioning some residents.

Speaking with Newsday, relatives of murdered vendor Dillon Joseph said they were still traumatised from his death and were not mentally prepared to deal with another murder.

Joseph, 30, was shot dead at his Caroni Savannah Road, watermelon stall last Wednesday by gunmen in a black Nissan Tiida.

The tent for the wake was still upright when Newsday visited the neighbourhood with several bulletholes in the wall, doorpost and iron poles keeping the tent upright.

"All of us had to drop down on the ground when they started to shoot at us.

"I saw one woman lie down flat like she was dead, but she just didn't want to move to get shot."

One of Joseph's relatives said for security reasons they would not be having anymore wakes and preferred to plan make his funeral arrangements quietly.

"An innocent man got shot and killed.

"We can't be risking innocent people's lives like this so we won't be having this anymore."

Another resident said most people in the community did not have enough money to move out as their livelihoods were connected to crops nearby.

Noting that it was not the first time reporters had to visit the neighbourhood to follow up on reports of murders and violence, he said he hoped he could survive the next attack.

"It's a mixture of desperation and fear we feeling now.

"We can't run and go anywhere so we just have to sit here and wait for something else to happen.

"I just hope that I am alive when you all come back here."

Senior police in the Northern Division said they were also concerned about the spate of killings and announced that a stationary or 'static' patrol would be assigned to the community to deter further attacks.

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

Editor's Note:

This is an update to the original story published hours earlier and which can be read below:

A shooting during a wake for a murder victim, near Trainline Village, St Augustine, led to the death of one man and the wounding of another on Wednesday night.

Police said Chris Pooran, 24, and a 29-year-old man were at a wake for murdered vendor Dillon Joseph, at around 10.30 pm, on Warner Street when a dark-coloured car drove near the gathering.

Two gunmen got out of the car and shot at the crowd hitting Pooran and the other man several times. The attackers got back in the car and drove off. People at the wake took both men to the hospital where Pooran was declared dead at around 11 pm.

He was shot several times in the head, back and chest. The wounded man received a bullet graze to his head. He is in stable condition.

Police from the Special Evidence Recovery Unit (SERU) visited the scene and found 34 5.56mm shells. Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region III officers are continuing enquiries.