Two of the three men shot dead by police on December 31 after they opened fire in the capital city—killing one woman and wounding nine others—were laid to rest Saturday.
Photos and videos of the double funeral held in Sea Lots for Richard “Bulls” Thomas and Joel “Snake” Roberts, both 29, were widely shared on social media.
The third gunman has not been identified by police.
The two were killed minutes after they shot at a maxi taxi on the Blanchisseuse taxi stand on the corner of Prince and George Streets in Port-of-Spain on December 31, killing Las Cuevas grandmother Lystra Hernandez-Patterson and wounding nine others.
Their intended target was said to be a Muslim City gang member.
In the videos, the bodies of both men were dressed in white and displayed in glass-topped coffins painted with red, green and yellow borders—colours traditionally used to represent Rastafarianism.
A short video clip from the funeral service showed dozens of mourners, some sporting over-sized gold chains, gathered around the body. Several of them wept while the others looked on.
Another video showed the hearses bearing both men’s bodies being escorted by a truck with two large screens showing photos of the men while a music truck blared dancehall artiste Aidonia’s hit Badman Salute.
Several people could be heard singing along to the song, which goes “RIP to a real killa…somebody haffi dead back for me feel better.”
Two limousines accompanied the hearses.
In the video, the truck’s driver stopped in the middle of the street to adjust the screens, bringing traffic to a halt. Even as drivers waited for the vehicle to move, several people walked out into the street to take photos of the procession.
Man shot in Diego Martin
An unidentified man was shot in Diego Martin on Friday night.
According to reports, the man, said to be from the area, was standing along Mason Street around 9 pm when he was shot.
There were reports that he died at the hospital on Saturday but police could not confirm whether those reports were true.