JavaScript is disabled in your web browser or browser is too old to support JavaScript. Today almost all web pages contain JavaScript, a scripting programming language that runs on visitor's web browser. It makes web pages functional for specific purposes and if disabled for some reason, the content or the functionality of the web page can be limited or unavailable.

Sunday, July 27, 2025

Sando shooting victim brings 2016 toll to 462

by

20170101

Akim Gon­za­les had planned to spend New Year's Day with his girl­friend Mary Brit­to and his fam­i­ly.

How­ev­er, he did not live to see 2017 as he was shot dead near his rel­a­tives' home on Sat­ur­day night.

Po­lice said Gon­za­les, 22, of Old Tram­line Road, Princes Town, was spend­ing time with rel­a­tives at La­dy Hailes Av­enue, San Fer­nan­do.

At around 10.30 pm, rel­a­tives were told he had been shot and went in search of him.

He was found ly­ing face down in a bushy area at the back of a ply­wood house near the San Fer­nan­do land­fill.

He had been shot three times.

Supt Yus­suf Gaf­far, ASP Ro­han Par­dassie and ASP Ali Mo­hammed led in­ves­ti­ga­tors to the mur­der scene at a squat­ting com­mu­ni­ty and in­ter­viewed sev­er­al peo­ple there.

How­ev­er, no sus­pect was held and a mo­tive is yet to be de­ter­mined for the killing.

Gon­za­les' death took the mur­der toll for 2016 to 462.

At a friend's home yes­ter­day, Gon­za­les' girl­friend said she last saw him around 9.45 pm when they were lim­ing at a Princes Town bar.

She said he had an ar­gu­ment with some oth­er bar pa­trons over "small talk" and left in a taxi and went to vis­it his aunt in San Fer­nan­do.

She lat­er got a phone call from Gon­za­les' moth­er, who told her to go to the hos­pi­tal be­cause he had been shot.

She was on her way when she got an­oth­er phone call telling her to go to Broad­way where she found out that he had died at the scene.

Brit­to said Gon­za­les grew up on La­dy Hailes Av­enue and had many friends and rel­a­tives there.

She said he was shot in the leg dur­ing a rob­bery at a Princes Town bar last year and had not been able to do any rig­or­ous work since.

How­ev­er, he had planned to buy a car this year to work.

"We were plan­ning for the new year to see if he could get a job that he was able to do so he could buy a car and try to keep the fam­i­ly to­geth­er.

"He al­ways want­ed chil­dren and we want­ed to start our own fam­i­ly, but now he is gone.

"To­day, we had plans of go­ing by his moth­er for the New Year's Day and spend it with his fam­i­ly in San Fer­nan­do.

"Every year since we were to­geth­er, that is what we did.

"Who­ev­er did this to him, it was un­fair," she said.


Related articles

Sponsored

Weather

PORT OF SPAIN WEATHER

Sponsored