TOBAGO’s second murder was one of four killings that took place between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, taking the murder toll for the year to 156.

The shooting deaths was just a fraction of criminal violence that took place, not just during the pinnacle of the Christian calendar, but also during the holiest period for Muslims, Easter and the month of Ramadan respectively – the two of the holiest periods for both religions.

On Sunday, a Moruga man who moved to Tobago was found murdered in a drain. Police said Alex “Papa” Cooper, 22 became Tobago’s second murder victim for the year after residents of Logwood Park, Scarborough, reported hearing gun shots around 6.20 am and later discovered Cooper’s body slumped and lifeless over the side of the drain.

Police said Cooper moved to Tobago some time ago, settled in Bagatelle and recently moved to another district. No motive was given for his killing.

The first Tobago murder was recorded on February 9 when Plymouth resident Nigel Sandy was shot near his home and subsequently died at the Scarborough General Hospital.

[caption id="attachment_1010110" align="alignnone" width="576"] Alex “Papa” Cooper -[/caption]

The other blood-letting for the holy weekend began with the murder of Chinese businessman Nicholas Zhu during a robbery at his San Juan grocery on Good Friday.

Police responding and killed one of the three men responsible for Zhu’s death. Up to Sunday night, he remained unidentified.

Police said Zhu, the owner of Golden City Supermarket, was attacked just after closing hours. A one-minute CCTV video, which was shared on social media Saturday, showed Zhu walking from his van after retrieving an envelope.

A short while after exiting the frame, three masked men were seen fleeing after the sound of multiple gunshots. Zhu was taken to the Mt Hope Hospital where he died.

On Gloria Saturday, Shamar “Shami” James was shot on the roadway at Unity Lane, Carapo, Arima, around 6.45 am. Police reported that the 32-year-old had been called out of his home and shot dead.

That day, police also reported the shooting death of Khanta Ramdass, 43, who was found murdered at Mud Plant Road, off Wilson Road, Barrackpore. He lived at No 10 Digity Branch Trace, Penal.

Police report that around 5.15 am on Saturday, an estate constable, employed with Heritage Security Ltd, contacted both the Barrackpore and Penal police stations to report the body of a man found at the side of Mud Plant Road.

In stark contrast, in her first Easter message since being sworn in as President, Christine Kangaloo called on the population to search for joy in the darkest of hours as that is the true meaning of Easter. On Good Friday she said the hope of Easter was not the misty belief that “all will be well in the end. Rather, if we each, in our own way, continue to do what is right, one decision at a time, we will be born into new life individually and as a nation.

“Easter, with its enlivening cry, ‘He is not