A Curepe man who moved out of Trainline Village, St Augustine three months ago to avoid the ongoing turf war, which claimed the lives of two of his cousins, was riddled with bullets on Saturday morning outside a supermarket in Curepe.
Police reported that Roger Maraj, originally from Trainline Village, was selling coconuts at about 8.40 am at the corner of Jackson and Bushe Streets, when a carload of killers attacked him.
CCTV footage showed the front seat passenger of a black Toyota Aqua leaning out to shoot Maraj as the car drove past him. When Maraj collapsed, two gunmen, one armed with a pistol and the other with an automatic rifle, approached him and shot him repeatedly.
Maraj’s cousins, Geno Shah and Dillon Joseph were killed this year in an ongoing violence in the community.
Maraj, relatives said, moved out of Trainline Village after Shah was killed and was living near his stall. He worked as a part time taxi driver to support his six surviving children. One of his sons died five years ago of natural causes.
Speaking with the media at the scene, one of Maraj’s seven children, who asked not to be named, said her father just wanted to escape the bloodshed of his community.
“We moved out from dey. We come here just to get away from the problem in the back there and it still following we. My father was no part of that!
"We leave from the Trainline because of what was going on and apparently they trying to get rid of anyone who lived there.”
The woman said her father always had a smile on his face, even when things were not going well.
“He was always laughing. If is one thing, he was for his children. He was not involved in any criminal activity. He realised the first set of shooting it had, we was in danger. When they shoot up the place a lot of us get away from bullets. When he saw that he made up his mind that the family could not live there any more.”
Another relative said Maraj was an easy-going man who never looked for trouble. The relatives questioned who was going to care for the family now as Maraj was the sole breadwinner.
[caption id="attachment_1017179" align="aligncenter" width="206"] Roger Maraj -[/caption]
“My father need justice! I have to get justice for my daddy” his daughter lamented.
After Joseph was killed, police in the Northern Division, where the killings took place, promised a "strong" police presence to prevent further bloodshed.
During a walk through the community on May 10, the division’s ACP Wayne Mystar promised to increase patrols in the community to reduce the levels of violent crime plaguing it.
While touring he spoke with Daniel Riley’s mother Helen Riley, who like Maraj, fled after her son was killed.
Mystar, in an effort to comfort remaining residents, said there will be daily police presence in the community.
"I don't want to say we will be living inside here, but we will definitely be spending a lot of time in the community. Whether it takes us two weeks, three weeks or a month, we'll be spending some time to normalise this community.”
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