T&T mom loses 2 more sons to the gun

(Trinidad Express) Less than two months after a 17-year-old boy was shot and killed outside his Laventille home, two of his brothers, on Monday, also fell victim to gunmen close to their home.

Khalif Gomez, 22, and Ishmael Jackson, 21, were among four people murdered on Monday night in Laventille and St Ann’s.

Gomez, Jackson and Jerome “Micey” Pierre, 25, all of Mango Rose in Laventille, were reportedly ambushed by four gunmen after leaving a birthday party not far from their homes.

Ryan Gilkes, 33, of Charford Court in Port of Spain, was also found dead, lying along Mt Hololo Road, St Ann’s, with bullet wounds about the body, including the back of his head.

The killings have brought the country’s murder toll for the year so far to 206, as compared to 196 for the corresponding period last year.

According to investigators, around 10.45 p.m. the brothers, Pierre and another man identified as Ricardo “Lovey” Duncan, 23, had just left a birthday celebration and were walking along Subrian Place, East Dry River, when four men armed with guns approached from behind and called out to them.

Police said as the group turned and faced the men, the gunmen opened fire, hitting both Gomez and Jackson multiple times, killing them on the spot.

Pierre attempted to escape his attackers by running, but the gunmen gave chase and shot him several times.

As he slumped to the ground, police said the men stood over Pierre and fired several more bullets into his body.

All three men died at the scene. Duncan, however, was shot in the leg and stomach and was said to be in a stable condition at the Port of Spain General Hospital up to yesterday evening.

Another man, who was also said to be in their company, escaped unhurt, said investigators.

Police said they have classified the killings as gang-related, as both Gomez and Jackson were known to them. The brothers were said to have had several matters pending before the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court for possession of arms, ammunition and marijuana.

At the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday, relatives of the dead men reluctantly and briefly spoke with members of the media.

A woman, who did not give her name but identified herself as the mother of the brothers, said she had also lost her younger son, Kimo Gomez, to gunmen on May 19.

He was reportedly standing outside his home around 4.45 a.m., when residents reported hearing the sound of gunfire before later finding him with a single gunshot wound to the head.

He died while undergoing treatment at the Port of Spain General Hospital.

The woman told reporters her sons, who each had three children, were “bright boys”. She said she believed they were killed out of jealousy. The woman said her sons and the other two men were close friends who were always in each other’s company.

In the other incident, investigators said at around 8 p.m., residents of Mt Hololo Road reported hearing several loud explosions in the area.

Upon investigating, police said the residents found Gilkes’s body lying in the road.

Crime scene detectives and officers of the Homicide Bureau of Investigations (HBI) and Port of Spain Criminal Investigations Department (CID) visited the scene and carried out enquiries.

Police said they have not established a motive for Gilkes’s murder, as he was not known to them.

In a release issued yesterday, president of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA) Gregory Aboud said the association is concerned about the continued “resounding silence” that takes place when these types of crimes are committed, questioning if this would be should they happen in areas where “our elites reside”.

“Repeated ‘hollow’ complaints about crime will not suffice to bring an end to the constant executions by gunshots taking place in Trinidad and Tobago.

“It is possible to excuse this deafening silence on the grounds that we are becoming desensitised to the news of dead bodies being found or that the society is fatigued from having failed to make a difference in the efforts to contain this terrible scourge that is happening during our time.

“This, however, becomes difficult to accept when we consider that there may have been a contrast in reaction if these dead bodies were to be found in quarters closer to where the elites reside,” Aboud said.

He added that if something is not done to stop the crime scourge facing this country, future generations “will wonder who failed to intervene and will surely hold our generation accountable for this decadence of bloodshed and wasted human life.”