Relatives of national swimmer, Edison Phipps, 31, who was gunned down in Diego Martin on Thursday evening, say he had everything to live for and they don't know why anyone would want to kill him. His father, Wilton Phipps, who was struggling to come to terms with his son's violent death, said: "The God I know will make every situation into a good thing. " Phipps was walking with his baby and his girlfriend when he was approached by a gunman who shot him three times about the body. He was among three people killed between Thursday evening and yesterday in separate incidents in Diego Martin, Morvant and Caura. Detectives said they heard Phipps was a deportee but are yet to determine a motive for his murder. They said Interpol is looking into reports that Phipps had been deported from the United States.
However, in an interview at his Diego Martin home, the elder Phipps denied that his son was a deportee. "I don't know about that," he told the Guardian. "He studied in America for three years." He said his son, who used to compete in cross harbour swimming events, was a "jovial person with friends." "I don't know what went wrong beyond that." In another incident, Vivian Williams, 25, a "PH" driver, was shot outside his Pelican Extension home in Morvant. Police said Willliams was returning home when a gunman came out of some nearby bushes and shot him at around 10 pm on Thursday. Williams was taken to the hospital where he died while undergoing emergency surgery.
Meanwhile, the police are seeking the public's assistance in identifying the body of a man found at "The Gardens" in Caura Village. Cepep workers stumbled on the body of a man around 9 am yesterday and immediately notified the police. The body bore several gunshot wounds to the head, police said. The victim is of mixed descent and between 35 and 40 years old. He was clad in a grey jersey, khaki cargo knee-length pants with a yellow belt. He had a tattoo on the left arm with the word "Out" and a gold stud in the left ear. Investigators said they impounded a silver Ford Laser in the district believed to have belonged to the victim. Detectives said the motive was not robbery because the deceased had $157 in his possession. Homicide officers are continuing investigations.