A WOMAN who just celebrated her first wedding anniversary and a young couple in bed with their four-year-old son are among eight people killed in less than 24 hours.
The bloodshed started at 4 pm on July 12.
In the latest incident, businesswoman Carissa Ramrattan from Rio Claro was shot and later died at the hospital on July 13.
She was gunned down on the compound of Toyota's south office at Tarouba after returning from nearby South Park Mall, where she went to get something to eat.
Gunmen got out of a silver vehicle and opened fire at her. They grabbed her handbag and fled in the vehicle.
Also on July 13, missing TT RideShare driver Shakeem Charles, 32, of Indian Walk, was found dead in Penal.
Police reports say Charles' body was found in a bushy area off Sunrees Branch Road, Penal. He was last seen on July 9 around 5 pm when he left his girlfriend's Manahambre Road, Princes Town, home in his white Yaris Cross (PEG 2166).
[caption id="attachment_1096037" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Shakeem Charles -[/caption]
He was last seen in Penal around 7.38 pm. When Charles did not return home and all calls and messages went unanswered, relatives became worried and reported him missing on July 9.
His vehicle was later discovered abandoned along Emon Lane in Valencia on July 10.
An Arima couple was at home sleeping around 3.30 am on July 13 when a gunman stormed their one-room home and opened fire, killing them both as their four-year-old son's screams were muffled under the weight of his mother's body as she shielded him from the hail of bullets.
Dead are 34-year-old Dwayne Richardson and his 31-year-old common-law wife, Latoya Voision, of Maturita Road, Arima.
[caption id="attachment_1096167" align="aligncenter" width="576"] Murder victim, 34-year-old Dwyane Richardson. -[/caption]
A relative, who did not wish to give her name out of fear for her own safety, said she believes there is a hit out on the family. The woman, whose house is metres away from Richardson's wooden structure, said two Sundays prior, both houses were shot at, but they did not report the shooting.
She said Richardson's last words were pleas to check on Voision and their child.
"I feel like I’m living in a dream. This can't be real. I could still hear him calling me to check on Latoya. He knew she was dead."
The relative said when the shots rang out, she hid four children who were in her home under covers and beds, as she believed the gunman would break into her home next. The children's ages are between three and eight.
After the shooting stopped, she went to Richardson’s house, where she said she could hear gurgling noises from Voision. The police were called, and within ten minutes they arrived, by which time both Richardson and Voision had died.
[caption id="attachment_1096168" align="aligncenter" width="576"] Murder victim, Latoya Voision in happier times. -[/caption]
The couple had one child together, but Richardson had four other children and Voision had five.
"Those children will need counselling. It
