By ALEXANDER BRUZUAL Friday, January 4 2013

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SHOT DEAD: Kevon Dover...

THE FIRST murder for 2013 was officially recorded yesterday with the death of 26-year-old Kevon Dover of Ninth Avenue, Barataria, who was shot Wednesday night by three masked gunmen while liming with a friend.

Police reported that at about 7 pm, Dover and 20-year-old Tarik David, also from Ninth Avenue, were liming near a shop along Seventh Avenue when they were approached by three masked men all dressed in black.

Without a word, the men opened fire on the limers before running off. David was shot in his left arm, neck and head while Dover was shot in his chest and stomach. Both were rushed to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) in Mt Hope where they received emergency treatment and warded.

Dover succumbed to his injuries shortly before one o’clock yesterday morning. Up to press time, David was still warded at hospital in a serious condition. WPC Hernandez of the Barataria police station was initially assigned to continue investigations but with Dover’s death, the matter is expected to be transferred to detectives at the Homicide Bureau of Investigations.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Dover’s mother Giselle Sampson said she is struggling to accept that her son is dead. “He had a son who is seven months old. He had a girlfriend. He had siblings. He had a family. He lived just down the road not too far from me and right now we are all just trying to come to terms with this,” Sampson said.

She described her son as a fun loving and caring person who was very “down to earth” and the type of man who would always help a friend if he could. However, she admitted that Dover had a penchant for following the wrong crowd.

“I am not going to sit here and lie like so many other parents whom I see on the news. My son had his faults, the major being that he kept company with the wrong set of people. No matter how many times you spoke to him but he would just not listen.

Earlier on Wednesday, two other men of Eighth Avenue, Barataria, were shot in similar circumstances. Police reported that at about 11.15 am, Omari Williams and Kurt Sandy were liming with friends along Eighth Avenue, when a car pulled up alongside the group.

The occupants of the vehicle shot the limers, wounding Williams and Sandy. The assailants sped off. The injured men were rushed to Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Williams was treated and discharged, but up to press time, Sandy was said to still be in a serious condition.