By ALEXANDER BRUZUAL Wednesday, July 4 2012

click on pic to zoom in

GUNNED DOWN: This composite photo shows from left, brothers Khalif Gomez, Ishmael Jackson and Kimo Gomez. At right is Jerome Pierre. Khalif, Ishmael a...

JUST 43 days after Kimo Gomez, 17, was shot dead outside his East Dry River, Port-of-Spain home, his family was again plunged into mourning when his brothers Khalif Gomez, 22, and Ishmael Jackson, 21, were brutally murdered on Monday night.

The waiting room at the Forensic Science Centre in St James yesterday echoed with the sounds of screams and sobbing as grieving relatives struggled to come to terms with the loss of the two.

Jackson and Gomez were among four persons killed on Monday night in just over two hours, pushing the murder toll to 211, for the year.

The bloodletting on Monday began at 8.10 pm when police reported that residents of Mt Hololo Road in Cascade heard several loud explosions and on checking later, discovered the body of Ryan Gilkes, 33, of Chafford Court, Port-of-Spain on the road near his car. He was shot once at the back of his head, execution style.

Officers led by Acting Inspector Parks visited the scene along with DMO Dr Chai Hong. The body was removed to the Forensic Science Centre. Police believe robbery was not the motive as Gilkes’ car and money were not tampered with.

Then, at about 10.45 pm, five men, all reportedly of Jackson Place in East Dry River, were walking along Sobrian Place in East Dry River, to their respective homes following a party when they were accosted by four men.

There was a brief confrontation between the groups, police said, before the four pulled out firearms and began to shoot at the partygoers. One of the partygoers, a 23-year-old man, managed to run for cover and escape unharmed. His friends were not so fortunate.

Ricardo Duncan, 23, was shot in his abdomen and left thigh. He is now warded at Port-of-Spain General Hospital in a serious condition. Brothers Gomez and Jackson and their friend Jerome Pierre, 25, were all shot dead at the scene. The four killers later escaped.

At the Forensic Science Centre, Michelle Gomez described her two sons as, “bright boys”, who did not deserve to be killed. “They were very helpful and bright boys. They would spend time reading to children and other people in the community who couldn’t read. They were just good boys. The three were good friends.”

She said the family has not yet gotten over the murder of Kimo Gomez, 43 days ago, and now there is fresh mourning, fresh agony and fresh sorrow.

Monday’s murders as well as circulation of pictures of the bodies of the three men via Blackberry Messenger and other social media avenues, prompted a response yesterday from the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA).

“News circulating in Port-of-Spain today of several gruesome murders having taken place overnight constrain us to voice publicly, our concern about the resounding silence that continues to permeate major quarters of local society at a time when the needless loss of life should have created a groundswell of national collaboration and communication.

“It is possible to excuse this deafening silence on the grounds that we are becoming desensitised to the news of dead bodies being found or that the society is fatigued from having failed to make a difference in the efforts to contain this terrible scourge that is happening during our lifetime.

“Future generations will wonder who failed to intervene and will surely hold our generation accountable for this unbelievable decadence of bloodshed and wasted human life,” the DOMA release stated.