Rowley T&T still a blessed land ..murders hit 609 today

Rowley T&T still blessed land ..murders hit 609

TRINIDAD and Tobago is still a stable and blessed place to live, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has said.
Rowley said that “we are living today in an era which many see as a major shift in the global paradigm, with social, cultural, political, econo­mic differences and violent conflicts tearing us apart, some say worse than ever”.
Wishing T&T a “Merry Christmas 2024”, Rowley also stated: “Let us, in our own way, continue our search, spreading peace, love, and joy throughout our families, our communities and indeed the world.”

Murders hit 609

T&T recorded its highest murder toll of 608 up to midday yesterday, making 2024 the bloodiest year in the country’s history.
The comparative toll at the same time last year was 562.

This year’s record surpassed the 605 murders of 2022. Between Monday night and yesterday, six murders occurred.

Penal man gunned down after leaving game of ‘whappie’

Instead of joy and happiness on Christmas Day today, relatives of 33-year-old Keanu Chandler will be in pain and sorrow.

All their excitement and plans for today came crashing down when they received tragic news yesterday that Chandler was shot at Bajnath Street in Penal.

When his aunt Deandra Cedeno arrived at the scene, she saw his lifeless body on the road. He was a wholesale clothes merchant and the father of three children ages 12, ten and eight. Chandler lived in Aquart Village, about two miles away from where he was killed.

After receiving reports about loud explosions at Bajnath Street, the police went to the area and found Chandler’s body with gunshot wounds to his chest. Police recovered several spent 5.56 casings on the road.

Yesterday’s figure beat the previous highest murder toll which was recorded at the end of 2022 at 605.

The latest killings included an 18-year-old from St Joseph, a Venezuelan national, a yet-to-be-identified local, a Tobago man, a Penal salesman and a San Juan woman who were murdered in separate incidents between Monday afternoon and yesterday morning in North Trinidad, Central Trinidad, South Trinidad and Tobago.Another man, Allister George, 26, was injured during the shooting.

The second murder occurred around 6.30 p.m. in Tobago during a robbery.

Police said that around 6.30 p.m., Zachary Lindow and one of his co-workers, Jay Job, 52, were at the Bacolet Convenience Store at Bacolet Street, Tobago, when two men dressed in hoodies entered and announced a hold-up.The bandits then shot both Lindow and Job following which they ran out the store.

Lindow was killed on the spot while Job was taken to the Scarborough General Hospital where he remained being treated up to last night.

Cunupia
Hours later a Venezuelan national identified as Hector Jesus Marin Valderrey, 29, who lived at Warrenville, Cunupia, was found with a wound to his groin area at John Street off Crown Trace, Enterprise.

He was taken by a private car to the Chaguanas Health Facility where he died around 8.45 p.m.

Central Trinidad

The murders continued in Central Trinidad when around 11.30 p.m. another man was killed.

Police said around 11.30 p.m. witnesses told them a red Nissan Almera had stopped near a tyre shop on Southern Main Road, Cunupia.

Three men who got out were seen arguing with one another.

One of the men then pulled out a knife and slit one of the other men’s throat.

San Juan

As shoppers hunted for last-minute deals in San Juan yesterday morning, a woman was stabbed multiple times to her abdomen near the corner of Saddle Road and Second Street, San Juan, in the vicinity of the Santa Cruz taxi stand.

She was later identified as Adana John, alias “Sixx Boss”.

She was 27 years old.

Christmas Day killing of dad shot while sleeping with mom, child

Gunmen came before daybreak on Christmas Day and attacked Kelvin Ramsamooj while he slept with his wife and son.

He tried running but was shot twice in the back and died.

There are now at least 609 killings recorded for 2024 so far.

The killing happened at Monsegue Trace, Toco Main Road.

CoP upset as murder toll hits record 608
‘This will continue to be TTPS’ challenge’

Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher has admitted to being disappointed that murders have reached a new record mark.
She made the comment in a statement late Monday night, even as six more people were murdered between Monday and yesterday, taking T&T’s murder toll to 608. The previous highest murder toll was 605 in 2022. The toll at the same time last year was 562.
“This will continue to be our challenge until such time that we succeed in diverting the minds of the criminal elements in our society, especially our young men, from the commission of violent crimes to more productive activities.”
She reminded the country that murders are not a police issue but a national one and as such, it is the duty of every citizen to help the TTPS reduce the murder toll.

However, criminologist Daurius Figueira yesterday said the state has failed in its duty to address crime and criminality, and one way towards fixing that is the immediate reformation of the TTPS.In a telephone interview with Guardian Media yesterday, Figueira said politicians are failing to address crime, as it will come with a political price they are not willing to pay.

“My personal point of view is that they don’t want to pay the political price to do what is necessary ... The policing have to get real. And the policing and the national security apparatus have to accept what we are faced with. It is not what they want to say, what we are faced with, but what reality on the ground is telling us we are faced with.” The problem for us is one of inaction. So, the problem for us in this country is not that we don’t know what to do, the problem is one of inaction that we simply don’t do what needs to be done. At this point, it is a waste of time to start to outline all the plans and strategies.

Why....???

Is Rowley still PM????

approx. 5,000 murdered...approx. 80 % African youths.

Is Erla still COP???? approx 2200 murdered under her tenure to date...

The question T&T faces as a nation is: How do we move ­forward with these two idiots at the helm?

Rowley T&T still a blessed land