Seven murdered in T&T in three days

(Trinidad Guardian) The usually quiet coastal town of Icacos, Cedros, descended into chaos on Saturday night, after gunmen opened fire outside a party, killing two people and wounding six others. The murders of fisherman Amit “Sanchez” Samaroo, 29 and his sister-in-law Kimberly Mohammed, 19, rounded off a bloody weekend in Trinidad, in which seven people were killed in just three days, pushing the 2015 murder toll to 298.

Saturday night’s double murder also left Amit’s brother Karan Samaroo, 31, his sister-in-law Patricia Toolsie, 23 and their friend Ricardo Massey, 25, all of Icacos, suffering from gunshot wounds. Three others, Utilda Williams, 60, of North Trace, Chatham, her friend Leon Graham, 67, of Mahaica, Point Fortin and Niel Paul, 27, of Marabella were also shot and taken to hospital.

According to reports, Amit, Karan and Toolsie were liming in front of their home opposite Lover’s Lane with Massey around 11.30 pm. The street was crowded as people were heading to a party at Lover’s Paradise Bar, when a new model Nissan X-Trail pulled up in front the house and two occupants, one armed with an automatic rifle and the other with a handgun, emerged and opened fire on the group.

Mohammed died immediately after being struck in the face while Samaroo died shortly after from a gunshot wound to the head. Karan survived being shot behind his head and knee while his wife, Toolsie, and Massey were shot in their hands and legs.

Witnesses said after the gunmen returned to the X-Trail they continued spraying bullets at people in the street, hitting Williams, Graham and Paul. The injured were taken to the Point Fortin Area Hospital by private vehicles and later transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital. Police found the gunmen’s vehicle a short distance away from the scene and impounded it for tracing. Senior police officers said patrols and manpower will be increased in the community.

Investigators believe the gunmen went for Amit, who was alleged to have been involved in illegal activity. Speaking to the T&T Guardian yesterday, Mohammed’s husband Navindra Tambie said his wife was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Tambie, 24, who is Amit’s brother, said he ran for his life when the gunmen trained their guns on him. He believed Amit was the target, having been shot at by gunmen two years ago in a drug related incident.

Tambie was at his Lemessey Street home where his mother-in-law, Kathlene Mohammed, was feeding Mohammed and his two-month-old baby Safiyya Naviana Tambie. “We were walking by to buy barbecue and my brother’s wife called her to tell her something. I was leaning by the car and I saw the two men jump out the vehicle and open fire on them. Then he turned and watch me and fired behind me because he probably knew I was Sanchez’s brother,” Tambie said.

“I could not see who it was because it happened so fast and ran into a side street. After my wife was shot I knew I couldn’t do anything to help her. When I went back and held her up, she was already dead and there was a lot of blood on my clothes.” Back at Amit’s home, his mother Lalitta Tambie said she was inside watching television with her grandchildren when she thought fireworks had gone off. After realising it was not, Tambie, 49, sent relatives outside to check.

“I thought it was fireworks but when fireworks go off you will hear the noise in the air. We did not hear anything, then I heard somebody said they shot him by the road.

“When I came out, I saw my son on the ground and my daughter-in-law lying down, that is all I could have seen.”

Earlier on Saturday, friends Amit Ramlogan, 18 and Kareem Turton, 28, were killed in Belmont; Ramjit Ramlal was beaten to death in Moruga and another man, who remained unidentified up to yesterday, was found shot to death along the Eastern Main Road, St Joseph. On Friday, Felix Singh also at hospital three weeks after being found at the side of Hunte Street, San Juan. Police believe he was beaten and dumped at the side of the road.