Gulf View man gunned down

A man identified as Kijana Matthew Codrington, 35, of Almond Boulevard, Riverside View, Gulf View, was gunned down in Marabella on December 27.

Police said they responded to reports of loud explosions and a man seen on the ground near Grenada Terrace, Marabella, around 6 pm. Codrington was found with several gunshot wounds to his body. Emergency medical technicians visited the scene and were unable to find any signs of life. He was pronounced dead by a District Medical Officer. An autopsy was ordered at the Forensic Science Centre, St James.

Crime scene investigators recovered ten spent nine-millimetre shell casings.

His mother, Ann Marie Presscott, was in disbelief and her mind riddled with questions, having spent some time with him just a couple hours before the attack. She said she and other relatives met him near Mon Chagrin Street, San Fernando, after which he said he was going to Mon Repos. She said he was offered a ride but declined as he was getting one with some friends who were also there.

"Next thing we know we get a call from somebody saying they got a message...We saw him, we talk to him and thing so we didn't believe it."

She said the family began searching for Codrington, looking in Mon Repos and making several calls. She said his sister was able to get confirmation that he was killed from a family friend who is a police officer.

"It's a tough, tough thing. Still, people asking and I can't answer any questions because I don't know how come you tell me Mon Repos and you end up Marabella. I don't know. I don't know who he went with, I don't know what happened. I just don't know. It's like I have fog in my brain right now to tell you the honest truth. It really, really hit me to know that I just talk to him."

Adding to her confusion, she said, the grieving family has been receiving conflicting reports about what transpired.

Prescott said one report they received was that he was thrown out of a vehicle and shot several times, while another report is that he was ambushed while walking along the street.

She said the entire family and friends were still in disbelief, unable to process the news.