(Trinidad Guardian) Police officers were kept busy on both days hours before the start of the official 9 pm to 5 am curfew hours.
Yesterday, two men were killed and one shot and wounded during a shooting incident in Morvant.
The victims have been identified by police as Atiba Riley and Abdool Mohammed.
Police said Riley was liming with a group of friends along Coconut Drive, Morvant, when a silver Tiida vehicle drove past them.
Gunshots were heard and the vehicle was then seen speeding away.
Riley and two others were later found bleeding from several gunshot wounds about their bodies.
The three injured men were taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for treatment but Riley succumbed to his injuries shortly after his arrival there.
Mohammed, who was said to have been shot in the torso, also later died at the hospital. The third man was shot in the buttocks.
Also yesterday, a maxi taxi driver identified as Richard Joseph was killed after being robbed while working his green band maxi along Cunupia Main Road near Homeland Gardens.
Hours before on Tuesday night, a 45-year-old Guyanese national was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Piarco while talking to a friend just a little over an hour before the curfew kicked in.
He was identified as Nigel Mootoo, of Carnbie Road, Piarco.
According to a police report, around 7.45 pm Mootoo was speaking to a friend at Carnbie Road, Piarco, when they saw a hatchback vehicle believed to be a Nissan Tiida drive along the roadway and then turn around.
A man came out of the vehicle and began shooting.
Mootoo was shot about his body and succumbed to his injuries on the scene. His friend, who was shot in the buttocks, was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, for medical attention. He was said to be in a stable condition last evening.
Police said they recovered 21 spent 40-calibre casings, one projectile fragment, one apparent projectile and four deformed projectiles at the scene of the attack.
In a separate incident, a 29-year-old man of Greenvale, La Horquetta, Arima, escaped injuries during a shooting incident minutes before the 9 pm curfew took effect
Police said around 8.15 pm on Tuesday, the victim was driving his black Mercedes Benz along Greenvale Avenue, La Horquetta, close to Castle Avenue, when he saw a black Ford Ranger following him. The Ranger then overtook his vehicle, blocking his path.
The victim told police he then saw a man of African descent come out the vehicle and point a firearm in his direction.
The victim reversed his vehicle and attempted to drive off but the gunman opened fire on him.
The victim eventually made his way to the La Horquetta Police Station and reported the incident.
In another incident, a 21-year-old man of Pinto Road, Arima, was stabbed in the neck.
Investigators said around 9 pm on Tuesday, the victim, the 25-year-old suspect and the victim’s sister were liming and drinking alcohol. Police said an argument erupted between the suspect and the victim. Officers said the victim then allegedly attacked the suspect, who picked up a nearby bottle, broke it and dealt the victim several stabs to the neck.
The victim’s sister alerted a nearby patrol and they responded. The suspect was taken to hospital, where he was attended to and discharged.
The victim was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, where he underwent emergency surgery.
Earlier Tuesday, a 20-year-old coconut vendor was shot and killed by someone pretending to be a customer.
According to a police report, at about 12.45 pm, Cardel Charles was selling coconuts at Bypass Road in Valencia when a man pretending to be a customer called out to him in front of his stall. The man then pointed a gun and shot him several times in the head and hand.
