Two shot dead in Tacarigua, Enterprise – murder toll now 584

Two men were shot dead in separate incidents in Tacarigua and Enterprise, Chaguanas on December 13.

And police have confirmed the identities of two other men whose bodies were found at the side of the road in Piarco and off Lady Young Road earlier that day.

In the Tacarigua incident, Ano Thomas, 44, was standing in front of his Alexander Street home around 7.50 pm when a white car drove up and several assailants came out, opening fire. The assailants then got back into the car which sped off.

Police said when they arrived on the scene they found Thomas' body lying between two houses. A district medical officer declared Thomas dead and ordered the body removed pending an autopsy at the Forensic Science Complex, St James.

Crime scene investigators retrieved 14 spent shell casings.

PC Ramdial is continuing investigations.

In the Central Division, police are investigating the murder of Kirdy Ramdhanie of Longdenville.

Police said they received reports of gunshot at Lamont Street, Enterprise shortly after 9 pm.

First responders found the victim bleeding from several gunshots in a track and several spent shells near the body.

The injured man was taken to the Chaguanas Health Facility where he succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment around 9.25 pm. An autopsy was ordered.

Crime scene investigators recovered 27 spent nine-millimetre shells.

In the Port of Spain district, police are investigating the circumstances which led to the murder of a Diego Martin man whose body was found hog-tied and with a gunshot injury to the head off Lady Young Road, Belmont.

The victim was identified as 23-year-old Kareem "Scooby" Baptiste.

Police said they were alerted that the body of a man near Textel Hill, Belmont shortly before 7 am.

PC Mc Leod and PC Mark of the Belmont Police Station found Baptiste's body lying near a drain with a wound to his head. His hands and feet were bound together with rope.

A district medical officer pronounced him dead and ordered the body removed pending an autopsy at the Forensic Science Centre, St James.

Crime scene investigators recovered five spent nine-millimetre shells.

While a motive is yet to be determined, investigators suspect it may have been a gang-related killing.

On December 12, Roy George Stanley, 65, of Oropune Gardens was found dead along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway near the Holiday Inn around 5.45 am.

He was dressed in a green jersey, a reflective vest, long blue jeans and a pair of rubber boots. Crime scene investigators recovered three spent shells, one of which had TT Regiment markings on it. Police do not yet have a motive for the killing.

The latest murders bring the country's toll up to 584, further surpassing the country's second deadliest year of 2023 which saw 577 people killed.

The bloodiest year on record was 2022 which saw 605 being murdered.