Two more men gunned down in Trinidad

(Trinidad Express) Two more men were gunned down in separate incidents in Diego Martin and Santa Cruz between Monday night and early yesterday.

The killings have pushed the murder figure for the year to 24 in 17 days.

Out of the 24 victims, 20 of them were killed with the use of firearms while one was stabbed, another chopped and the fourth drowned.

For the same period last year, the murder toll was 22, according to an Express tally.

Of the latest two murders, one of the victims was shot dead while taking his usual early-morning jog in Santa Cruz while the other was killed when gunmen stormed his Diego Martin home.

Dead are Lincoln Baker, 36, of Andrew Trace, Blue Basin Road, Diego Martin and Lalchan Bhairosingh, 50, of Sun Valley Street, La Pastora Road, Santa Cruz.

The first incident occurred at Baker’s home shortly after 11.p.m. on Monday. His niece Lianna James, 18, was also injured in the incident when unknown assailants stormed their home.

James remains in satisfactory condition at the Port of Spain General Hospital nursing a gunshot injury to the left breast.

Her two-year-old baby and her boyfriend who were with her at the time were not hurt, police said.

All the commotion occurred while the house was in darkness after the assailants forced their way inside.

James, relatives said, was shot after a bullet pierced a wooden partition which separated her room from that of her uncle.

Baker, his relatives believe, was killed in a case of mistaken identity. They believe the bullets were intended for James’ boyfriend.

Police are also working on the same theory.

Baker, a plumber and father of two children, was shot multiple times about the body by unknown assailants while inside his bedroom.

His relatives, who spoke with the media at the Forensic Science Centre in St James yesterday, said Baker was shot while asleep, but police said he was chased from his living room into his bedroom where he was ordered to come out before being shot.

This is the third murder to occur within the Western division in three consecutive days.