Three men shot dead in separate incidents: Murder spree

One man begged for his life outside his home when he was shot dead, another managed to save the lives of relatives when he alerted them to the presence of gunmen in his casino when he too was killed. A third was selling doubles when he was felled by a hail of bullets.

This sums up a spate of killings on Tuesday night.

The killings brought the murder toll to 389 for the year thus far, compared to 518 for the corresponding period last year.

In the first incident market vendor Michel Diaz, 35, was taking garbage out at his Tunapuna home at around 7.30 pm.

A relative heard him speaking with someone when she heard him say 'Don't shoot me.' Gunshots were heard seconds later.

On checking, the relative found Diaz bleeding in the front yard of the house.

At the Forensic Science Centre (FSC), St James on Wednesday, one of Diaz's relatives told Newsday they believe he might have known his killer, as he made one last call for his life to be spared.

"I personally want that person to repent and apologise to us.

"I want them to tell us why they killed him. He had people who loved him."

In the second incident, which happened in Diego Martin, Lucius John, 35, was at his businessplace LA's Amusement Club, when two bandits entered. John, who was facing the door, saw them approaching and yelled at his relatives to run away. The bandits shot him and escaped.

His relatives told Newsday at the FSC, his actions saved lives and he is being hailed a hero.

"Two more of my family members would have been dead this morning if it weren't for Lucius. That was the kind of man he was.”

One relative said while she was devastated by John's death, she left vengeance in the hands of God.

"What did they kill him for? For nothing. They didn't even get anything. A few weeks earlier there was a robbery at another casino nearby, and now this came and happened.”

Another relative said John opened the casino only two weeks ago and had dreams of developing a franchise.

And Kareem Jervis was at Sauce Doubles stand on the Southern Main Road, Curepe, at around 7.30 pm when he was approached by a man who shot him several times before running away.

Passers by saw the shooting and took Jervis to the Mt Hope hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Members of the Northern Division Emergency Response Patrol, the St Joseph CID and Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region II visited the scene.

Investigators said Jervis was shot in the right side of his chest, his right forearm and back.

In August 2019, Jervis's friend and mentor Shazard Manick was also gunned down at the same place.

Police said it was too early to establish a connection between the two murders, but they were "exploring that possibility."

Also on Tuesday night, an Arima man was shot and wounded while liming near a shop at Maturita Extension, Arima.

Police said the man was approached by two men who shot him 14 times before running away.

He was taken to the Arima hospital where he was treated and transferred to another hospital where he remained up to Wednesday evening.