(Trinidad Express) Over the course of 13 hours, two men were brutally murdered in front of their families in separate incidents in the communities of Barataria and Biche.
The latest incident took place at about 3.30 a.m. yesterday.
Police reports that Devanand Bholai, 40, was at his home in Biche Village, with his family, when they were awakened by loud noises coming from the front of the home.
Two armed men, police sources said, had forced their way into the home, and they had ordered everyone into the living room, before one of the men proceeded to ransack the home, removing a quantity of cash, jewelry, and other valuables.
It was said that as the men were leaving the home, one of them, without warning, turned back and shot Bholai repeatedly to his upper body and head, in full view of his relatives. The 40-year-old man died instantly.
The police and emergency health services were notified, and a party of officers including Senior Superintendent Othniel Williams and Woman Superintendent Hinds visited the scene along with crime scene investigators, and several spent shells were said to have been recovered.
A District Medical Officer also visited the scene, and ordered the body’s removal to the Forensic Science Centre in St James, where an autopsy is expected to be performed today.
About 13 hours earlier, 25-year-old Ancil Greene, of Upper Sixth Avenue, Barataria was killed at his home after he received a phone call from his parents asking him to return.
Police reported that at about 2.20 p.m. on Saturday, two masked men armed with firearms, stormed into Greene’s home, and demanded from his parents the whereabouts of their son. Police sources said that one of the assailants placed a gun to the head of Greene’s father and demanded that he call his son, and tell him to return home.
Scared for his life and that of his wife, Greene’s father contacted the 25-year-old man.
As Greene arrived at the home, some 20-minutes later, the two gunmen opened fire on the young man before he could properly get out of his vehicle. Greene was hit several times about his body, and died on the scene.
The two assailants then escaped the scene on foot, leaving Greene’s grieving parents unharmed.
The police and emergency health services were notified and a party of officers from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations and the Barataria Police Station visited the scene.
And at about 5.40 p.m. on Saturday, 34-year-old Sean Nurse, of Pt Pleasant Park, Laventille, was liming with a group of friends including Emanuel McKenzie, 17, of Upper Laventille Road, Laventille, and Akim Phillips, 16, of Mulrain Trace, Laventille, near the Laventille Health Centre, Laventille Road, when the group was approached by an unmarked vehicle.
Without warning, the occupants of the car pulled out firearms and opened fire on the group before fleeing the scene. Nurse was shot multiple times about his upper torso.
Mckenzie and Phillips both suffered gunshot injuries as a result of the incident.
All three injured parties were rushed to hospital, however, Nurse was pronounced dead on arrival.
Up to late yesterday, his two friends were still said to be warded in a stable condition.
In an unrelated incident, police reported that Stephen Mannette, of Despers Drive, off Laventille Road, Laventille, was standing in the roadway near his home when residents of the area heard several loud explosions.
Upon investigating, they found the 52-year-old lying in a pool of blood on the roadway. The police and emergency health services were notified and Mannette was rushed to the Port of Spain General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Investigations are continuing. This brings the murder toll for the year to 99 according to an Express tally. The comparable figure for 2013 is 89.