(Trinidad Express) As gang violence continues to rear its ugly head in and around the capital city, three persons have been shot dead and four others wounded in separate shooting incidents. This brings the murder toll this year to 131 as compared to 135 for last year for the same period.
Two of the dead men, believed to be street dwellers, up to late yesterday had not been positively identified by police, while the other murder victim is Ian “Gangles” Nathan, 29, of Mahabir Drive, Pelican Extension Road, Morvant.
The four wounded men have also been identified by police as Ian Nicome, 53, of Espinet Street, Laventille; Quadhar Mohammed, 34, of El Socorro; and Leon Simmons and Kenny Dickson both of Mentor Alley, Laventille.
Dickson and Simmons, police said, were standing at the corner of Block 22 at Trou Macaque Road, Laventille around 8.20 p.m., on Wednesday, when a white B14 motorcar pulled up alongside them. The occupants opened fire on the men and sped off along Trou Macaque Road.
Police responded to the incident and the victims were taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital where they were treated and warded in stable condition.
Simmons was shot in the right buttocks while Dickson sustained gunshot injuries to the left arm and leg. A motive has not yet been established for the incident.
Police later found the vehicle believed to be involved in the incident at Mango Alley in the area with false registration plates.
The car was reported stolen from the Gasparillo community on March 25. Yesterday it was positively identified by its owner at the Besson Street Police Station.
And around 12.10 a.m. yesterday, a group of men were liming at the corner of Duncan and Queen Street when they were approached by another group who came from the nearby Mango Rose community.
Without warning, the suspects opened fire on the limers and quickly made their escape in the direction from which they had come.
Police responded to the incident and found four men, two of whom were later identified as Mohammed and Nicome, nursing gunshot injuries on the roadway.
They were taken to hospital and treated for gunshot injuries to the back and face and listed in serious but stable condition while the other two unidentified victims died at the scene.
One of the men, police said, is of African descent, dark brown in complexion, mid-50s, and approximately five feet seven inches tall. He was clad in black short pants and sported a low grey hairstyle and grey beard and was bareback.
The other victim, police said, is also of African descent, light brown in complexion, approximately 45 years old, slim built, clean shaven. He was also bareback and clad in a blue jeans which was rolled up to his knees.
Detective Mc Cain of the Region I Homicide Bureau of Investigations is probing the double killings which are linked to recent gang-related shootings between the Nelson and Duncan Streets and Mango Rose criminal gangs.
Over the weekend, detective Cpl Thompson of the Besson Street CID was shot and wounded while he and other police officers responded to a report that a man, armed with an AK-47 rifle, was hiding at an apartment at Duncan Street.
The suspect was identified in the shooting and wounding of two men in the area minutes before police were engaged in a shootout with him. He managed to escape after Thompson was shot.
Anyone with information which could lead to the identity of the victims and solving the crime is asked to contact officers at the homicide bureau at 625-0508 or officers at the Besson Street CID at 625-8008.
Shortly after officers left the scene of the double homicide and shooting, they received another report of a shooting, this time at Mahabir Drive, Pelican Extension, Laventille.
Officers from the Port of Spain Division Task Force proceeded to Mahabir Drive around 6.10 a.m. and found Nathan, a St Vincent national, dead in a drain near his home.
Nathan, who police said had been living in this country since the age of 15, was not known to be involved in criminal activities.
But officers of the North Eastern Division Task Force described Nathan as a watchman for a known criminal in the area. He was shot multiple times about the upper body and face. His killing has been classified as gang-related.
The dead and the injured Dead Ian “Gangles” Nathan, 29, of Mahabir Drive, Morvant Injured Ian Nicome, 53, of Espinet Street, Laventille Quadhar Mohammed, 34, of El Socorro Leon Simmons of Mentor Alley, Laventille Kenny Dickson both of Mentor Alley, Laventille * The other two dead men are yet to be identified by police.
