A family dispute is believed to be behind the killing of an Arima man who was shot in a cemetery as he went to light up the graves of his two deceased sons on the occasion of All Saints on Wednesday night.
Maurice Sylvester Koon Koon, 51, of Koon Koon Street, Malabar, collapsed and died on the grave of one of his sons.
He was shot several times on Wednesday night while at the Tacarigua Cemetery on Crown Street.
Koon Koon was accompanied by his wife Sharon and seven-year-old grandson.
The child, who was also shot in the left toe during the incident, was treated at hospital and released.
Gunshots were heard coming from the cemetery around 8.55 pm, following which police arrived to find Koon Koon dead and his grandson bleeding from gunshot wounds.
The police were told the straightener/painter had gone to clean the graves of Meakale and Dominique Koon Koon and also light candles atop them. However, while doing so he was approached by a gunman.
As the gunshots rang out, however, other persons in the cemetery believed them to be fireworks. But they were soon alerted by Koon Koon’s relatives that they were gunshots. The gunman, who was in all black clothing, with a red hat and a black mask covering his nose and mouth, ran away from the scene.
Koon Koon was found dead on top of Meakale Koon Koon’s grave.
Visitors who went to his family’s aid contacted the police, who later escorted Sharon Koon Koon and her injured grandson to the hospital.
Forensic officers recovered seven spent 9 mm shell casings at the scene.
Dominique Koon Koon, 22, was killed at the family home in January 2018, as he fought with an armed assailant who was reportedly struggling with a male relative during a robbery.
