The murder toll has climbed into double figures in just four days in the new year, after four men were killed within seven hours of each other between Saturday evening and yesterday morning. All of the victims were shot dead and no one has been held for any of the killings. The most recent incidents which pushed the tally to 10, began with 18-year-old Sean Carrabayo, of Amowsville, Carenage, who was attacked while liming with friends on Saturday evening.
Police said around 5 pm, Carrabayo was playing cards in a basketball court at Fitzwilliam Street in Pt Cumana, when he received a phone call and walked acrosss the road to answer it. His friends were startled by a series of gunshots minutes later and saw Carrabayo collapse on the sidewalk. The group told police that they did not see the gunman’s face as they rushed to Carrabayo’s assistance. The gunman ran away through a nearby track.
When a news team from the T&T Guardian visited the teen’s home yesterday, his relatives, who were busy planning his funeral, were adamant that Carrabayo knew his attackers. “He get call to his death. The man who call him, put him in place,” said one male relative, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The man could offer no reason for his relative’s murder as he claimed the teen had just left school and was not involved in crime.
However, these claims were disputed by police who said that Carrabayo had fallen under their radar in relation to gang-related activity over the past two years. This was corroborated by people in the village who said they were not shocked by the teen’s murder. “He was a good boy,” the woman said as she smirked sarcastically, “It wasn’t a surprise when we got the news.”
In another incident, a murder was committed around 1 am yesterday morning in Belle Vue, Long Circular Road, St James and claimed the life of 34-year-old parlour owner Levi Snaggs. Around 12.30 am, residents contacted police after they heard gunshots. When police arrived minutes later they found Snaggs, a father of two, lying at the side of the road in an unconscious state. He was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he died while undergoing emergency surgery.
Speaking with reporters yesterday, Snaggs neighbours claimed that Snaggs was an innocent victim in an ongoing gang war between rival factions living at opposite ends of the street. “The situation up here not nice with this war. He (Snaggs) didn’t really deal with them fellas. He went to check somebody for a job and this happen to him,” a female resident said.
Four hours after Carrabayo’s shooting, relatives of 54-year-old building contractor Krishendath Mahabir contacted police after he was shot at his home in Biche. They told police around 9.40 pm, Mahabir when to a shed on his property, at 16 and 3/4 mm, Cunapo Main Road, Biche, to take an outdoor bath, when they heard a volley of gunshots.
They found him lying on the ground in his underwear with gunshot wounds to his chest. He was taken to the Rio Claro Health Facility where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Investigators had not established a motive for his murder up to late yesterday and neither did his relatives, who said they were still left in shock. “We really don’t know why this happen. He had just went by the pipe to bathe when we hear the shots,” Mahabir’s nephew said in a brief telephone interview yesterday evening.
In a separate incident, 38-year-old Roger Frederick was ambushed by two gunmen as he left his home at First Street, San Juan shortly before midnight on Saturday. Police said, around 11.30 pm, Frederick was walking to his car which was parked at the side of the road, when a black Nissan Almera, which was parked a short distance away, pulled alongside him.
Two men got out of the car and shot Frederick several times. The gunmen escaped in the waiting car. Frederick was taken to Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Like with Mahabir, police are yet to determine a motive for Frederick’s killing.
List of victims
1. Vernon Carter, 71, Woodstar Avenue, Maloney Gardens
2. Sheflan Rampersad, 32, Johns Trace, Claxton Bay
3. Kevin Francis, 23, Maharaj Trace, South Oropouche
4. Dorothy Rodrigo, 30, Jokhan Trace, Carapo
5. Steven Carrington, 30, Carolina Village, Couva
6. Daryl Bastien, 32, Quinam Road, Siparia
7. Sean Carrabayo, 18, of Amowsville, Carenage
8. Krishendath Mahabir, 52, Cunapo Main Road, Biche
9. Roger Frederick, 38, First Street, San Juan
10. Levi Snaggs, 34, Belle Vue, Long Circular Road, St James