(Trinidad Guardian) Gerard Forde may have been fortunate to escape gunmen, but his eldest son was not.
Forde’s son, Brandon Forde, 26, was one of four men who were killed while liming at the corner of Smart Place and Belmont Circular Road, at around 10.22 pm on Sunday when a dark-coloured SUV drove near them.
Five gunmen got out of the car and shot the friends several times before driving off.
The friends, Brian Padmore, 27, Chivon Clarke, 26 and Kerron Moore, 31, died at the scene.
Officers of the Belmont CID, the Port-of-Spain Task Force and the Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region I visited the scene and found several spent shells.
Guardian Media visited the scene as residents at the corner tried to scrub away bloodstains from the pavement where the men were killed.
Guardian Media spoke with the elder Forde who said he was standing near the corner where his son and friends were liming.
His last interaction with his son was a quick greeting before the shooting began.
Forde said he initially could not believe what was happening and was too stunned to move.
“That gun, that noise, it was so powerful I froze.
I actually froze on that bridge and I was walking across here because I thought I was going to die.
I kind of ran and hid behind this car and I kept looking back and I said to myself, ‘somebody is going to kill me.’”
An emotional Forde said the sound of the gunfire left him shaken and could not think of a reason why his son and friends were targeted by killers.
He said his son bought a few cars and had them working as taxis on the road and was speaking about car repairs with his friends, who he described as being “innocent” men.
He lamented how unpredictable such attacks could be, noting that while he knew his son was not involved in anything illegal, he warned him about the danger of stray bullets.
“I used to say the type of people you lime with, you have to be careful because even though he limes with people I don’t know who they associate with.
He would listen but he won’t do anything about it, he will still stay with his friends.”
Referring to the calibre of weapons used in the attack, the elder Forde questioned how such high-powered rifles were easily available.
He was also critical of the response of the authorities in responding to the threat of criminals.
“And they said it (the crime) is getting better but where are they getting the weapons from and where are they getting all these bullets from?
They (the criminals) are getting all of these weapons, they have to be imported and nothing is being done.”
Forde said his son had dreams of opening his own business and lamented that he did not get the chance to have any children.
While at the scene several passers-by stopped to offer Forde and his family condolences, while drivers travelling along Belmont Circular Road briefly slowed down at the corner to see the area where the men were killed.
Guardian Media visited the Forensic Science Centre, St James, and spoke with relatives of Brian Padmore who said they also did not know him to be involved in any illegal activities.
One relative said Padmore worked as a security guard at Westmall.
Another relative said he lived close enough to the area where Padmore was murdered and heard the volley of gunfire from his home.
“I didn’t really take it on when I heard the gunshots.
It’s when I got a call from a friend he said, ‘Boy look they kill your Brian boy,’ I said ‘Kill Brian?’
I got over the wall one time.”
