8 dead in killing spree

A WOMAN who had just celebrated her first wedding anniversary and a young couple in bed with their four-year-old son are among eight people killed in less than 24 hours.

The bloodshed started at 4 pm on July 12.

In the latest incident, businesswoman Carissa Ramrattan from Rio Claro was shot and later died at  hospital on July 13.

She was gunned down on the compound of Toyota's south office at Tarouba after returning from nearby South Park Mall, where she had gone to get something to eat.

Gunmen got out of a silver vehicle and shot at her, grabbed her handbag and fled in the vehicle.

Also on July 13, missing TT RideShare driver Shakeem Charles, 32, of Indian Walk, was found dead in Penal.

Police reports say Charles' body was found in a bushy area off Sunrees Branch Road, Penal. He was last seen on July 9 around 5 pm when he left his girlfriend's Manahambre Road, Princes Town, home in his white Yaris Cross.

He was last seen in Penal around 7.38 pm. When Charles did not return home and all calls and messages went unanswered, relatives became worried and reported him missing.

His vehicle was found abandoned on Emon Lane, Valencia, the following day.

An Arima couple was at home sleeping around 3.30 am on July 13 when a gunman stormed their one-room home and opened fire, killing them both as their four-year-old son's screams were muffled under his mother's body as she shielded him from the hail of bullets.

Dead are 34-year-old Dwayne Richardson and his 31-year-old common-law wife, Latoya Voisin, of Maturita Road, Arima.

A relative, who did not wish to give her name out of fear for her own safety, said she believes there is a hit out on the family. The woman, whose house is metres away from Richardson's wooden structure, said two Sundays earlier, both houses had been shot at, but they did not report the shooting.

She said Richardson's last words were pleas to check on Voisin and their child.

"I feel like I’m living in a dream. This can't be real. I could still hear him calling me to check on Latoya. He knew she was dead."

The relative said when she heard the shots, she hid four children who were in her home under covers and beds, as she believed the gunman would break into her home next. The children are between three and eight.

After the shooting stopped, she went to Richardson’s house, where she said she could hear gurgling noises from Voisin. The police were called, and arrived within ten minutes, by which time both Richardson and Voisin had died.

The couple had one child together, but Richardson had four other children and Voisin had five.

"Those children will need counselling. It’s ten children they have altogether."

The relative said Richardson was a labourer and farmer who had a small garden.

"When people get killed, the family always says he was a good boy. Well, in this case, he was a good boy. He used to work hard. I don’t know why anybody would want to kill him or her."

She added, Voisin had completed a child-care course at YTEPP and on July 8, she had registered for the course's second module.

"I don’t know if I’m awake or sleeping. This is crazy. This is not real life. I feel they will come back for me."

The relative said crim scene officers took the home CCTV footage.

The couple's four-year-old son was taken to the Arima General Hospital for examination, but was not injured in the shooting.

The Maturita murders were one of two double murders.

The gruesome weekend began with a double murder in Gonzales on July 12.

Hasani Bonas, 29, and Jaheim Charlo, 19, were standing at Agostini Street, Gonzales, at 4 pm, when they were shot multiple times. The shooting took place two streets away from where eight men were shot on June 2.

In that incident, a group of men were liming near a school in Gonzales after a game of football when gunmen arrived in a car and began shooting.

One man died at the scene and two others at hospital. Several other people were injured.

The injured men were taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital and moments after they arrived, masked gunmen stormed the hospital and opened fire, shooting another man. Those killed were Jayden Reyes, Peter Williams, Kevin King and Johnathon Arjoon.

Another victim, Levi Morgan-Gloud, 20, had left the Belmont area and was living in Cunupia. On July 3, when he returned to visit his mother and attend a friend’s wake on Upper St Francois Valley Road, he was shot and killed.

At 8.45 pm on July 12, 20-year-old Jemerc Fonrose Marc, who was out buying a burger, and 44-year-old Kerwin McLeod were shot and killed at Mango Rose, Laventille. A 66-year-old man was also injured.

Reports say three men were liming on the pavement when a silver Nissan Tiida pulled up next to them. Three masked men got out and began to shooting. Fonrose and McLeod died while undergoing treatment.

Shawn Nigel George, 36, was shot and killed on Foster Road, Sangre Grande, around 10 pm on July 12.

A woman heard gunshots she believed were coming from the back of her home and called the police. When they arrived, they found George  in a room at the back of a house, dressed in a white vest and red and black short pants and with two gunshot wounds to his chest.

Officers found ten spent shells of 5.56mm ammunition.

A 62-year-old man was injured in that shooting. The unidentified man told the police he had been shot while walking along the road.

Speaking to Newsday via WhatsApp on July 13, Deputy Commissioner of Police Suzette Martin said violence in communities will not be tolerated.

“The TTPS is excellent at what we do and we will be going behind the offenders with all the resources and tools available to us.”

She said she is confident that the TTPS will “rise to the occasion, and the communities we serve will be safer and better off as a result.”

Martin said public co-operation is crucial in the police fight against violent crime.

“I urge residents to report suspicious activities: if you see something, say something. Partner with the TTPS to reclaim our communities.”