T&T murders cross 600

Murders cross 600:Mom of one hacked to death in home invasion

Instead of Christmas Day merriment, a Moruga family now has to plan the funeral of 36-year-old judiciary worker Stacy Gopaulsingh.
The mother of one was brutally hacked to death during the early hours of yesterday morning at her Poui Trace, St Mary’s Village home. She was almost decapitated and her wrist severed.
Her common-law husband Shane Gomez told police he managed to escape with their three-year-old daughter by jumping through a window.

Her killing pushed the toll for the year to 600 and was followed yesterday by two more in Chaguanas. The toll at the same time last year was 560.Asked about the prevalence of home invasions, he said, “I really can’t figure it out. It is very scary. Something is very fishy about it.”Describing his daughter as a hardworking and loving person, the father of eight said she had three degrees and was pursuing a master’s degree. He said usually, they would have a family get-together for Christmas.

Benjamin said the murder occurred a short distance away from where Enrico Guerra and his five-year-old daughter were murdered four months ago.
Lamenting that the community is living in constant fear, she again called on the Ministry of National Security to take immediate action, including bolstering police presence, equipping officers with the necessary tools to carry out their duties effectively and ensuring that justice is served swiftly.

Delivery man killed in Tobago

A man was killed in Bacolet, Tobago, last evening, just two days before his birthday, pushing the record toll on the island to 26 for the year and 603 for the country.

Zachary Lindow, 21, of Pembroke, was gunned down by bandits inside the Bacolet Convenience Store along Bacolet Road just after 6 pm.

Police said Lindow, a delivery man, and his colleague, Jade Job, were confronted by two gunmen as they were making deliveries to the store. While Lindow died at the scene, Job was taken to the Scarborough Hospital for treatment.Relatives were inconsolable at the scene, but said Lindow was carded to celebrate his 22nd birthday on Boxing Day.

Three cops injured in funeral fracas


Three police officers were injured while trying to arrest a man at the funeral of a murdered alleged gang member on Saturday. 
According to reports, at 4.30 pm, a group of officers from the Eastern Division Task Force (EDTF) were monitoring the funeral of Dwight “Shafo” Saunders when they attempted to arrest a mourner for using obscene language. However, a group of 30 men, who the police claimed to be members of the “Resistance” gang, went to the man’s assistance and attempted to block the officers from detaining him. 

The men reportedly threw metal objects at the officers and the man briefly escaped before being detained a second time by the officers, after they received backup from their colleagues. 
The 38-year-old Valencia man was taken to the Sangre Grande Police Station. He was later charged with using obscene language, resisting arrest, escaping lawful custody and three counts of assaulting a police officer.

On December 12, Saunders, 39, of Palm Road, Valencia, was liming at a bar in Valencia when he was attacked by two gunmen. Saunders, a delivery driver, was shot in his head and fell into a drain. Another patron Stanley Carrington, 72, of Maloney Gardens, Arouca, was wounded in the shooting and survived. 

Christmas preparations dampened as 2 killed in Enterprise


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.

Amazing, some young people there have no respect for life.