Sascha Wilson
A cousin of murder victim Dariyus Cooper said she feels hopeless about crime situation in the country.
“I dont think it have anything to describe crime in this country. It is a loss, cause I don’t think it have any hope for us right now. I saw one of the comments under his page was young people grab your children and flee.”said the woman who spoke with reporters at Cooper’s home in Roystonia, Couva yesterday.
Cooper, 23, a cargo handler, was shot dead at around 10 pm on Tuesday while liming at his former employer’s car wash business at Cartoya Drive, a street away from his home. A police report stated that he had arrived at the residence and business place about an hour before he was shot.
A silver Nissan Tiida stopped at the business place, the front seat passenger came out, walked up to Cooper and shot him several times. Cooper ran a short distance before he collapsed and died.
His cousin said Cooper was asleep when he got a phone call inviting him to a lime at the car wash. He had worked at the car wash before he got a job at the port in Point Lisas a year ago.
The cousin, who does not live in the neighbourhood, said Cooper’s relatives heard the gunshots and became worried.
“We believe it was about four shots, we not to sure. They know he left the house, so they called him to see if everything alright and no answer, so they walked across.”
They saw his lifeless body on the ground.
The female relative, who did not give her name, described Cooper as very respectable.
“If you go through his Facebook page everybody call him a sweetbread. He knows how to fit in everywhere, he know how to adapt,” she said.
“Everybody at a loss. He was not known to have any enemies. Other than the normal fall out with his friends today and they talk tomorrow.”
Up to late yesterday, investigators were still trying to determine a motive for Cooper’s murder. Officers from Homicide Bureau Region 3 are investigating.
