As reports of criminals stalking their victims at banks continue, investigators are probing whether teacher Ashram Boodram’s killer followed him home from a branch in San Fernando.
Relatives told Guardian Media on Saturday that Boodram, 50, a woodwork teacher at the Union Claxton Bay Secondary School, was expanding his home along Hibiscus Drive, Debe. It was believed that he finished work early and went to the bank to withdraw cash to pay the construction crew at his house.
A report stated that around 2 pm Friday, Boodram had just got out his Toyota Fielder wagon outside his home when a gunman approached and shot him in his chest. The gunman then took his bag with the cash and ran off. The workmen at the back of the house rushed out to help and police and an ambulance were contacted.
However, relatives said paramedics did not arrive until 4 pm and by that time, police already took Boodram to the San Fernando General Hospital. However, he died a short time later.
Relatives wondered if Boodram’s killer knew that he usually paid his workers on Friday or whether they just saw the opportunity while at the bank and followed him home. Boodram’s niece Diana Ogeer said that after the shooting, her uncle asked the workers to place him in the hammock and he was able to speak. He told police that his killer was a tall, Afro-Trinidadian man who wore a white shirt. However, he did not know who the killer was.
“He does not usually come home around that time. They said he came home early that day and we know that he usually pays his workers on Fridays. We don’t know if he went to the bank. We’re assuming that he did on his way from work. He came home, parked the car right in the front here. While he was taking his bags out of the car, somebody approached him from the back. Maybe he turned around because the gunshot wound was on his chest. They grabbed his bag. Apparently, when he got shot, he made it to the middle of the yard,” Ogeer said.
Boodram’s death was contrary to the way he lived. After teaching for almost 30 years, he was building another level to his home. Dane Harripersad, a nephew, said Boodram did not attend parties, hang out at bars, but would only engage in family activities. His hobbies were crafting wood items and writing poems and songs for family members.
“He was a person who never went out, go to fetes, did not drink, did not eat meat. The only things he went to were family events. He was conservative. He used to write songs, poems and make furniture,” Harripersad said.
Police are yet to arrest a suspect in Boodram’s murder but are working to retrace his movements leading up to his death.