Fireman who survived 2021 gun attack shot dead

GUNMEN were out for revenge in the murder of Kerron Joseph, 38, on Friday night in Blanchisseuse, according to a preliminary police investigation.

Joseph, a firefighter, of O’Connor Street, Blanchisseuse was shot multiple times about the head and body.

Police recovered 34 spent 9mm shells and one projectile from the scene. Residents reported hearing several gunshots just after 6.30 pm. One eyewitness saw two men fleeing the area moments after the shooting.

Residents later found Joseph motionless on a concrete platform at upper O’Connor Street.

Joseph, who was assigned to the San Juan Fire Station, was a wounding victim in a report of a double homicide which occurred on September 8, 2021.

Joseph was among three men shot at at 8.30 pm that day in a drive-by shooting in Blanchisseuse.

The other two men – Curvin Bristol and Clyde Joseph – both 40, were liming with Joseph at O'Connor Street when they heard gunshots. The gunmen then sped away.

Residents took Clyde to the hospital, where he died shortly after.

Bristol died at the scene whilst Joseph was grazed by a bullet in the attack.

At the time, police said a motive was not established for the murders. However, on Saturday, investigators said revenge may have been the motive.

Over the past two years, O’Connor Street has had a spate of murders stemming from gang violence and drug-related incidents. Earlier this year, on April 21, villager Carver Evangelist, 50, of O’Connor Street, was shot dead near his home. Evangelist’s eldest son, Sherwin Maharaj, 31, was murdered on February 17, 2021, while taking soft drinks to a relative on O'Connor Street.

His younger brother Michael Evangelist, 31, and another man Nigel Dedier, 51, were killed at a construction site in Blanchisseuse on January 27. Days after Evangelist’s sister’s house was shot at and firebombed.