Grieving relatives of 36-year-old Terry Aaron are praying that the perpetrators who snuffed out his life and injured his cousin during a shooting at a bar in their neighbourhood will be brought to justice.
Police suspect that the gunmen were waiting in the bushes for the opportune time to ambush Aaron and his 38-year-old cousin while they were liming at Fifty Shades of Gold Bar in Rio Claro on Saturday night. Around 11.45 pm, Aaron and his cousin were in front of the bar along Naparima Mayaro Road in Union Village when two gunmen emerged from the bushes and began shooting at them.
The victims ran into the bar where Aaron died while patrons took his cousin to the Mayaro Health Facility. He was treated and transferred to the Sangre Grande Hospital where he was in a stable condition up to yesterday.
Police recovered 17 spent 5.56 shells, seven spent 9mm shells, seven projectile fragments and two projectiles at the scene.
In an interview with Guardian Media, Aaron’s niece said they were heartbroken. She recalled that she was jolted from her sleep by five to seven loud explosions, which she suspected were gunshots, but her grandmother dismissed them as fireworks. Less than five minutes later, she said they heard bawling and screaming, and someone said he got killed.
She said, “I know my uncle. I know he did not deserve that. Me, being his niece, I would never have pictured this, my uncle lying on the ground, lifeless. When I hold my uncle hand last night I could not feel nothing. He was already gone. My uncle saw his shooter. His eyes were open. You could see he was crying.”
She said about two weeks ago her uncle was involved in an altercation with a group of people and they struck him on his head with a bottle. He suffered a gash over his eye. She said he felt his life was under threat so he made a report at the police station and asked the police to intervene.
“I don’t understand why people choose gunfire violence but at the end of the day, we leaving it in God’s hands and I hope that God really reveals the person who did this cruel act.”
Lamenting that his death had left friends and relatives in shock, she said Aaron was not a bad person and was not involved in any illegal activities.
“At the end of the day, our family is broken. Whoever did it, I want allyuh to know that allyuh left a mother without a son, allyuh left nieces and nephews without an uncle.” Homicide detectives are investigating.
