7 SHOT DEAD in TRINIDAD (Victim's father: People just gone mad)

MURDERED: Lester Kerwin Mollino

Seven people were gunned down in four separate incidents in Arima, La Horquetta, Beetham Gardens and Pt Lisas between Thursday night and yesterday.

The killings have pushed the murder toll for the year so far to 256.

Those murdered have been identified by police as:

(Arima)

• Keyon Boldan, 23, of De Gannes Street, Arima;

• James "Tony" Brusco, 50, of Mausica Lands, Jonestown, Arima;

• Lester Mollino, 37, of Sanchez Street, Arima;

• Kern Mitchell, 22, of Mayaro.

(La Horquetta)

• Sean Thompson, 23, of Evan Rees Lane, Phase Four, La Horquetta.

(Beetham Gardens)

• Arnold Krishendath Mungroo, of Penal Rock Road, Penal.

(Pt Lisas)

• Denyse Philip, of Diamond Village, Claxton Bay. (See story at right.)

In the Arima incident, four men were shot and killed, while three others were wounded, when two gunmen indiscriminately opened fire on residents.

Residents of Jonestown, among them children, and mothers with their babies in their arms, were forced to duck and run after two gunmen went on a shooting spree in the area just after 8 p.m. on Thursday.

At the time, people were liming along the road and others were going about their everyday business, like visiting the nearby shop.

Several people who attempted to escape the barrage of bullets were chased and shot at as the assailants fired at anyone in sight, police said. Boldan, Brusco, Mollino and Mitchell were killed, while Alvin Duncan, 47, Ian Richardson, 19, and Eugene Khan, 24, were injured.

Duncan, police said, was shot in the right ankle; Richardson, in the lower right leg and knee; and Khan, in the left shoulder.

They were taken to the Arima District Hospital, where they were treated and then transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope.

At the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday, Boldan's father, Andre, told the Express his family remained shocked over the incident. The father of three sons and one daughter said monsters committed the act.

He said Boldan was expected to start working with the Kiss Baking Company in Chaguanas. "He went to purchase a bread and something to drink at the shop, and while doing that some people drop off with guns and when they run into the parlour and everybody tried to make themselves small in the parlour and the gunmen came in and wet (shoot) everybody who was inside there.

"This country needs some good prayers and blessings because something wrong. People just gone mad cause something definitely wrong for a man just to enter a village and shoot people for no reason," Andre said.

Brusco, a construction worker, was a very loving, family-oriented person who worked hard in order to provide for his family, his relatives said.

His relatives, who asked not to be identified, said they didn't have faith in the criminal justice system, and not enough was being done by law enforcement agencies to stem the flow of illegal arms and ammunition into the country.

"I have no faith in the authorities right now and it has become the norm now to shoot people at will, and they are not doing anything. The only person who's trying is Mr Ian Alleyne (host of TV6's Crime Watch programme).

"It seems like we have to accept that this is the norm now that they can't protect us and the country from criminals, but it seemed like we would have to protect ourselves because they say they have a plan, but we not seeing any plan being implemented.

"I feel hurt and disheartened by what has happened. They need to do something about the proliferation of arms and ammunition on the streets," a relative said.

Mollino, who is married and the father of two children, was expected to migrate to the United States to live with his wife and children, one of his relatives said. The incident, police said, occurred as several residents gathered along the roadway, while others were making their way to and from the Bert Assing parlour.

The killers emerged from a vehicle and asked for directions. They then opened fire on anyone in their sight before making their escape. Crime scene investigators recovered more than 50 nine-millimetre projectiles which littered the street and Assing's parlour.

When the shooting ended, the bullet-riddled bodies of Boldan, Mollino and Brusco were discovered inside the parlour, while Mitchell's body was discovered around 6 a.m. yesterday, not too far the scene of the shooting. Police, up to late yesterday, remained clueless over the incident.

A team of officers led by Snr Supt David Abraham, acting Supt Samuel Bullen, ASPs Randolph Boyce and Kenrick Edwards, Insp Seemungal Rampersad, Sgt Kirt Samuel and PCs Herbie Francis and Mootoo, visited the scene. Woman Sgt Jermaline Mitchell, of the Region II Homicide Bureau, is probing the incident.

Scores of residents came out and remained behind police caution tapes for hours as crime scene investigators searched for possible clues. Most residents said they had initially believed the sounds of rapid fire were firecrackers.

In the incident in La Horquetta, Thompson was with a group of friends and residents, playing cards at the corner of Evan Rees Lane, around 8 p.m. on Thursday, when two men approached. The suspects opened fire on Thompson, causing those gathered to scamper for safety.

Thompson also ran a short distance and was discovered, lying face-down in a track, with multiple gunshot wounds to the body and face. He was taken to the Arima Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police believe the incident was a reprisal for a recent killing in the Northern Division.

And around 6 a.m. yesterday, Besson Street police responded to a report that the body of a man was spotted in a river between Sixth and Seventh Streets, Beetham Gardens.

Officers, led by ACP Raymond Craig, Supt Garth Campbell, Insp Williams, Sgt Sean Coggins and Cpls Darryl Jodha and Harvey of the Besson Street and Region I Homicide Bureau, visited the scene.

Police said Arnold Mungroo was shot, chopped and burnt almost beyond recognition before being dumped into the river. His neck was almost severed during the attack.

Mungroo was identified by police after officers took fingerprint impressions and conducted a search through the criminal database