Two people are dead and two wounded after a drive-by shooting in Port-of-Spain on Saturday evening.
According to reports, Javon Assing, Atia Haynes, Israel Cox and Akeem Grant were standing on the corner of Queen and Nelson Streets around 6.46 pm on Saturday when the attack happened.
Police said a silver AD wagon was heading along the street when the front seat passenger began shooting at the group.
All four were hit and later rushed to Port-of-Spain General Hospital where Assing, 34 and Haynes, 28, a single mother of one, succumbed to their injuries.
Cox, 23 and Grant, 36, were said to be in critical condition at the Port of Spain General Hospital up to last night.
Assing, Cox and Grant were all from Duncan Street while Haynes lived at East Dry River, Port-of-Spain.
Relatives and friends posted condolences on Haynes’ Facebook page yesterday morning, lamenting that her children are now motherless.
One poster described Haynes as a darling with a big mouth while others called for the “trigger happy fools” to stop the murders.
Haynes’ mother, Franka Ollivierie, was scheduled to celebrate her birthday in a week’s time but those plans have now been dashed.
“My birthday coming Sunday, this is my birthday gift. This is what I get for my birthday gift. But Jah keep me strong,” said Ollivierrie, who questioned why violence continued to perpetuate in the area.
“What is all this for, why is we people have to be going down.”
She called on love to come through the community.
“We people have to know thyself, when they love thyself they will love anybody who coming around here. Is not about money you know. Money is not the object,” Ollivierrie said.
Her sister Shireen Ollivierie also lamented that yet another member of her family had been lost to gun violence.
“It pains. This pain’s overbearing now. I lose so many of relatives by the bullet and this is high-class nonsense with my people,” she said.
“The pain ..., is high time black people stop the killing of one another, it is unnecessary.”
Assing’s Facebook page was also filled with condolences, with many of his friends expressing shock that he had been killed. He was described as a “good soul.”
In a separate incident on Saturday night, a man was shot dead along the Western Main Road in Carenage.
Police have identified the man only as “Reeba” Superville. He was shot while standing along the road around midnight on Saturday.