RALPH BANWARIE
A market vendor and father of two was shot yesterday in the presence of his wife and daughter at their home at Cunapo Road, Coalmine.
Sheldon “Shabazz” Sutton, 43, of Cunapo Road, Coalmine, was pronounced dead on arrival at Sangre Grande Hospital after he was shot several times by two armed men.
Police said around 11.30 am, Sutton was about to enter his van to go shopping for electrical lights with his wife and 15-year-old daughter when two armed men approached.
One of them placed a gun to his head and forced Sutton back into the house where they took him, his wife and the teenager and locked them in Sutton's daughter bedroom and opened fire.
The woman and her daughter were not hurt but were hysterical and traumatised at the scene yesterday, screaming and calling for “Shabazz”.
The two gunmen walked out of the house and escaped after the shooting.
Neighbours, alerted by screams for help, responded and took the injured man to the Sangre Grande District Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Sutton was shot to his chest, abdomen, arms and back, police said.
His son, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he saw two strange men running out of Cunapo Road close to his home, unaware that his father had been shot.
When he got news of his father’s death he too began screaming.
“Who killed this loving man who always gives away his produce to the needy?” his son asked.
“I can't believe my father was killed,” he said.
His wife could not speak and had to be consoled by relatives as she kept running from the house and shouting her husband’s name.
Villagers described Sutton as a jovial vendor who would give willingly to the needy.
They said he was known by shoppers when they went to the market on Saturdays and Sundays.
Police officers, led by ASP Robain, Sgt Pamela Persad, Cpls Randy Castillo, Jason Osouna and members of Sangre Grande Crime Scene Investigators, Task Force and Homicide Region 11, were among the officers who visited the scene.
This is the second murder in the Eastern District between yesterday and Sunday.
The other killing took place on Sunday night after Wendell Thomas, a businessman of Arima, was gunned down while liming with friends at North Manzanilla beach.
Thomas, 43, a father of three, died on the spot after gunmen sprayed his body with bullets. Thomas, of Printery Road, was shot to his chest, legs, arms and back when he went to his vehicle.
Police reported that around 7 pm they responded to call of shooting at North Manzanilla beach.
On arrival they saw a group of men standing next to a car and the body of a man lying in a pool of blood on the North Manzanilla Road.
Several spent shells were recovered by police.
Police said they could not determine a motive for killing and ruled out robbery as the victim’s gold chain, other jewelery and his wallet were left untouched.
Friends of Thomas told police they were all liming and having fun at the beach when Thomas left the group to retrieve something from his vehicle parked a short distance away.
Thomas friends were alerted by several loud explosions and later found him dead.
District Medical Officer Dr Ardillal Borde viewed the body and ordered its removal to the Sangre Grande District Hospital mortuary.
PC Mc Queen of Homicide Region 11, Arouca, is continuing with the inquiries.
Cops seek help to identify body
In a separate case, police are seeking the public's assistance in identifying the body of a man who was found murdered in Arima on Sunday night.
According to police, around 11.30 pm residents along the Arima Old Road reported hearing gunshots. Police said after the shooting they found a man dead. Police said he was shot in the head and chest.
The murder toll is now 126 for the year, compared to 98 for the same period last year.