Relatives of murdered Public Service Transportation Corporation (PTSC) driver Willdon Shepherd yesterday were contemplating how to break the news to his eldest son that his father was dead.The child is scheduled to sit the Secondary Entrance Assessment examination next month.Sandra Douglas, the child's grandmother, said the boy was not informed of his father's death and relatives were unsure how to break the news.The child's mother, who was also at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, was overheard on her cellphone telling his teachers to make sure her son did not see a copy of yesterday's newspapers, thinking the story would have been published by then.
Shepherd's wife, Natasha Jackson, told the media that the 32-year-old, who earned the nickname "Jim" for wearing "Jim Boots" as a child, was family-oriented.She said Shepherd was supposed to pick her up from work but she received a phone call informing her he had been shot.According to police reports, Shepherd, of Egret Walk, River Estate, Diego Martin, was at Waterwheel Auto Garage, along the North Coast Road, Diego Martin, on Wednesday night when he was approached by a man and shot about the body.The gunman stole his gold chain before escaping.
He was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His killing pushed the murder toll to 141 for the year, 21 more than the corresponding period last year.In an unrelated matter, a 25-year-old Diego Martin man is now in a critical condition after being shot in the chest around 8 pm on Wednesday night.Police reports stated that Jameel Smart was liming outside his home at Humming Bird Circular, when residents heard several loud explosions.Smart ran into his house clutching his chest and collapsed on the couch, police said. His sister took him to the St James Medical Complex where he was stabilised and transferred to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.