As residents of Freedom Street, Enterprise, Chaguanas, awakened to continue their Christmas preparations yesterday, an early-morning shooting put a damper on their plans.
The incident at 7.20 am claimed two lives and left a 15-year-old boy nursing injuries at hospital. This took the murder toll for the year to 602.
The first victim, who died at the scene, was identified as Joash Topping, 25, of Eagle Avenue, Gopaul Lands, Longdenville.
Topping was reportedly liming with a friend at his rental house at Clement Street, off Freedom Street, when an unknown car stopped in front of the open gateway and the occupants opened fire on the group who had been sitting under the covered garage.
Topping, who was believed to be the target, was shot multiple times in the head and upper body. He died at the scene.
A second man, who police could only identify by his alias, “Tint,” later died at hospital. He was found at the side of the house where he was alleged to have crawled when the shooting began. It was claimed he had been lying on a mattress in one of the rooms when the shooting began, and that one of the gunmen entered the house and continued shooting.
The teenager, meanwhile, was found injured at the back of the house. He was taken to the Chaguanas Health Facility by a private resident, where he was treated and then transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope.
When Guardian Media visited the area around midday, the streets remained deserted, with gates closed and doors and windows tightly locked.
Residents who peeped out declined to speak, claiming to not have seen or heard anything.
One man recalled hearing gunshots as he was shaving and rushing to advise his family to remain inside. Reluctant to say much more, he said the entire community was uneasy, as the ongoing gang warfare in the last couple months had escalated and they were uncertain, as “anything could pop off anytime.”
He said it was unsafe to walk the streets and urged Guardian Media to leave the area.
Another resident who was cutting grass at the time said his family would be spending a quiet Christmas inside, as he did not feel safe inviting friends and extended relatives to celebrate.
Asked if he would consider leaving to celebrate outside the area, he said fresh new problems would arise in returning home, so he preferred to stay home and keep his children inside.
