More than 60 people attending a birth night party at a club in Curepe had to scamper for safety after two gunmen opened fire inside the establishment, killing five men and wounding two others, during the early hours of yesterday morning. The incident took place at La Cabana Club on Eccles Trace, Knowles Street.
Police have identified the victims as Ray James, 23, of Jackson Street, Curepe, and Poinsettia Road, Macoya; Damian Punette, 24, of Knowles Street, Curepe; Hakeem Vickles, 17, of Bellsmyte Street, Curepe; Keron Charles, 24, of Armosvale Road, Moriah, Tobago, and Glen Morris, 26, of Bertie Road, Five Rivers, Arouca. All five victims, police said, died at the scene of the shooting. Their bodies were examined by the district medical officer who ordered them removed to the Forensic Science Centre, where autopsies are expected to be conducted today.
The injured are Kerwin Parris, 21, and Grima Selassie, 16, both of Arouca. Parris was shot in the foot while Selassie, a student at the University of the Southern Caribbean, sustained a gunshot wound to the shoulder. Both remained warded in stable condition at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex under police protection. According to police, the incident appeared to be a reprisal for an attack on 21-year-old Ricky Ali, who was severely chopped while liming at a Bar on Watts Street, Curepe. Police said James, who was recently released from the Youth Training Centre, (YTC), was identified as one of the men involved in the chopping. In that incident, one of the assailants had accused Ali of interfering with his girlfriend. Ali who sustained injuries to the head and back has since been discharged from hospital.
But around 2.30 yesterday morning, two men stormed the establishment, which was filled to capacity with patrons spilling onto the roadway and the recreation ground. The men approached the bar counter and opened fire. James was the first to be shot, followed by Punette who was standing next to him, police said. Most of the dead men were shot in their heads. The killers, police said, calmly left the establishment. Speaking with reporters at the scene, Morris' mother Pamela said it was a sad moment for her family, especially Morris' two young daughters. She believes Morris may have been at the wrong place at the wrong time. At his Curepe home, Nico Kelsey Hughes, Vickles' only brother, described him as a very loving person who was dedicated to his studies. A team of officers led by ACP Barnett Mayers and Snr Supt Joseph Edwards, and including acting Supt David Abraham, acting ASP Johnny Abraham, Insps James and Corbett, Sgts Eric Parks and Ettienne, along with Cpl Hoyte and PC Rajkumar, visited the scene.
Parks is investigating.
