Dexter "Sugars" Gillard was shot12 times as he attempted to shield his son from gunmen outside the Diego Martin North Secondary School, St Lucien Road, on Tuesday afternoon.Gillard, 40, of La Puerta Avenue, Diego Martin, was pronounced dead on arrival at Port-of-Spain General Hospital.His son, Rasheen, 14, who was also shot, remains warded in stable condition at the Intensive Care Unit, up to late yesterday evening.Gillard, a father of five, was known to be a gang leader, police said.
Hours after his killing, Marley Robinson, 25, of Tomato Trace, was gunned down at Savannah Terrace Number Two, Diego Martin.Investigators believe Robinson's killing was a reprisal for Gillard's murder. Police said they received information that Robinson was involved in Gillard's shooting.Detectives said Robinson was known to be involved in "nefarious activities." The two killings have pushed the murder toll to 178 for the year.Relatives said yesterday that Gillard's other son, Amile, was killed last year.Female relatives huddled together while they waited for Gillard's autopsy at the Forensic Science Centre.
A relative who refused to be named said: "He was shielding his child when it happened. If they don't get to take him, they will take another. He also went and see his dead son (Amile) on the ground one year ago. They said they want to get him (Gillard) then take his son. It is unfair to the innocent children to have to pass through it. They (children) don't have war with anybody. They (criminals) don't want no peace-making in the place. "The relative said Gillard was a "community leader" and denied he was a gang leader."He was a community leader who wanted peace," she said.The relative also claimed the police took a long time to respond.When asked about Robinson's death, she said: "We don't know about that. If they want to take another life through gun...we have no grudge with anybody."Robinson's relatives claimed he was at home at the time of Gillard's death.
"He was at home watching movies and cooking...When he heard he (Gillard)) was killed, he said, 'thank God I home because my name quick to call,'" a relative said.Referring to reports that the perpetrators were dressed in school uniform, she said: "It could not be him because he was very tall with plaits and a beard."She said Robinson had been charged years ago for murder."They identified another man with the same first name...He (Robinson) does be at home looking after the child," a relative said.She described him as a man who was a "babysitter and kept to himself planting vegetables."A nearby resident claimed Robinson was an innocent man.
"What man will shoot a man then come and lime on the block outside? They kill an innocent man," he said.When the T&T Guardian visited the Diego Martin Secondary School yesterday, several students expressed fears for their safety."We not feeling safe, we not feeling safe," some of them chanted.Several female students said they were in the same class as Gillard's son."We not feeling safe. We don't feel safe. It don't matter anyway because we live in the same community," a female student said.The students were quickly dispersed by a security officer who warned them numerous times that he would "report them" for speaking with the media.
The officer attempted to move a student who was willing to speak. The student told him: "Don't touch me."He returned several times to the gate but was quickly chased away by the same guard.A woman who identified herself as the school's vice-principal also cautioned reporters that they should not take pictures of the pupils and they (students) were only acting for the media.When questioned about reports that one of Gillard's assailants was hiding among students and dressed in the school's uniform, an official said: "They were dressed in the same school colours. We didn't look for a monogram of the school. They (attackers) were part of the crowd."