分类： society

A shocking, senseless act of violence has cut short the life of a young Trinidadian farmer just months after he and his brother launched their new agricultural venture. On Tuesday, 34-year-old Kamal Richard Mohammed, a father of two young children, was ambushed and shot in the head while working on a cultivated plot off Manohar Trace, Rochard Road in Barrackpore, local law enforcement and eyewitnesses confirm.

According to official police accounts, the attack unfolded around midday. The unidentified gunman, riding a bicycle, approached Mohammed on the agricultural land, drew a concealed firearm, fired a single shot at the farmer, and immediately fled west along an unpaved dirt track. First responders were alerted swiftly, and Mohammed was carried to a waiting vehicle by his relatives and colleagues for emergency transport. Along Papourie Road, the Emergency Health Services ambulance took over the patient transfer and rushed him to San Fernando General Hospital. Despite rapid medical intervention, Mohammed was pronounced dead at approximately 1:20 p.m.

By Tuesday afternoon, investigators had located a key piece of evidence: a red and black mountain bike matching the gunman’s description was abandoned at the side of the road near Manohar Trace, confirming details from eyewitness accounts.

Mukesh Mahase, a long-time employee of the Mohammed family who was present at the farm alongside Kamal and his brother Rasheed during the attack, shared his harrowing recollection of the incident with reporters. Mahase said he had been kneeling and tending to pumpkin crops when he heard three gunshots ring out across the farm. Lifting his head, he spotted the masked attacker on the trail. “I said, ‘Who is you?’ The man start to ride that bike real speed,” Mahase recalled. He described the gunman as wearing a long-sleeved garment with his full face covered, riding a mountain bike matching the model police later recovered.

After the shooter fled, Mahase said Rasheed came running from the area of the farm’s pond, shouting that Kamal had been shot near the water pump. “It was blood like that. I raised his head and put it on his brother’s knee. The next brother run with a towel and they start to make calls,” Mahase said, emphasizing that the family has never been involved in conflict with anyone in the community. “We don’t trouble nobody, we don’t have nothing with nobody in the trace. Them is good soldiers. I know him as a little brother in front of me. They killed an innocent man.”

At the Mohammed family home on Wednesday, grief hung heavy over the entire household as Kamal’s elderly parents mourned their slain son. Seventy-three-year-old Sackeer Mohammed and 63-year-old Leela Mohammed told reporters their son had never mentioned receiving threats before the attack, and there had never been any prior violent incidents targeting him or his brothers.

Leela explained that the farming venture was new for her sons: just last year, an elderly local man who had long managed the parcel of land hired Kamal and his brother to clear, prepare, and cultivate the plots. The brothers had spent months working tirelessly to get the farm ready, only planting their first full crops earlier this year.

“He did not deserve that (death). He did not trouble anybody. He would go to work and he loved to exercise and eat healthy,” Leela said, her voice breaking as she spoke of Kamal’s two young children, aged four and six. “His children have been asking for him, and we do not know how to tell his children that he died.”

As of Wednesday, detectives from the Region Three Homicide Bureau of Investigations have not identified any confirmed motive for the killing, and the investigation remains ongoing.

A suspicious early-morning fire has gutted the interior of a $1.98 million residential property linked to the high-profile alleged false imprisonment and assault of a domestic worker in southern Trinidad, law enforcement and fire officials confirmed this week. The blaze broke out just after 6 a.m. Wednesday at the three-bedroom concrete home located on Deosaran Trace, San Francique in Penal, with local investigators now leaning toward arson as the cause, believing a Molotov cocktail was thrown through one of the property’s bedroom windows to ignite the fire. Neighbors were the first to spot thick smoke billowing from the residence, and they quickly alerted emergency responders, who arrived on scene within minutes to contain the spread of the flames. While firefighters successfully prevented the fire from destroying the entire structure, saving the majority of the building’s exterior and outer structure, the entire interior of the home was completely destroyed by the blaze. When local media outlet Express visited the scene Thursday morning, fire investigators and police officers were still conducting forensic examinations and collecting evidence at the damaged property. One anonymous local resident, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, described the unnaturally quiet start to the emergency, saying, “I just walked outside and saw the smoke. It was surprising because I didn’t hear any noises or anything. Other residents came out and someone called the fire station.” Teams from both the Penal Fire Station and Penal Police Station responded to the call, and as of Thursday, investigations into the cause and perpetrators of the fire remain ongoing. The damaged property is directly connected to a recent disturbing abuse case involving 42-year-old Sabita Basdeo, a Barrackpore-based mother of two who has worked as a domestic worker for the residents of the home. Basdeo has alleged that she was subjected to brutal, prolonged abuse at the hands of the property’s occupants: she claims she was beaten repeatedly, had her head slammed repeatedly against a solid wall, suffered intentional burns across her body, and was held captive against her will for an extended period. After she was able to escape or be rescued, Basdeo was immediately transported for urgent medical care to treat extensive bruising across her face and body, as well as other visible traumatic injury marks. Police took two suspects into custody last Saturday in connection with the abuse allegations: a 38-year-old woman and her 17-year-old son, who are accused of orchestrating the unlawful confinement and brutal assault. As of Thursday, both suspects remained in police custody, and investigators are preparing to submit the case file to legal authorities to formalize multiple criminal charges. Basdeo’s family, including her husband and one of her two sons, has publicly spoken about their desire for her to make a full recovery and return home to their residence on Ramlal Road, off Platinite Trace in Barrackpore, once she is cleared to leave care. Investigators have already completed a formal interview with Basdeo to document her allegations, and they are expected to receive formal legal guidance imminently on moving forward with charges against the two suspects.