A 32-year-old vegetable vendor was shot dead at the Tunapuna market yesterday. According to reports, around 6.30 am Anthony Prince Noel, of Monte Grande, was setting up his provision stall when he was approached by a man whose face was covered with a burqa, an Islamic veil worn by women.
The attacker shot Noel once and then eight other times as he fell to the ground.
Eyewitnesses said the shooter then ran away through the market and boarded a maxi taxi on the Priority Bus Route (PBR), heading west. They claimed that they could not identify the shooter as they could only see his eyes through his disguise. Noel was pronounced dead on the scene by a District Medical Officer (DMO).
Speaking with reporters on the scene of the shooting Noel’s brother, Andy Thomas, said he could not think of any reason why someone would want to kill him.
“He don’t be in beef with anyone. If you come outside you might not even hear his mouth. I don’t know what would have caused this,” he said as he described his brother as a “hard working family man.
“He was making a good life here. He never tell us about any confrontation or anything like that but I now hearing he and another fella had an altercation in the market,” Thomas said.
One eyewitness, who only spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Noel had gotten into a series of altercations recently with veteran vendors over the positioning of his stall at the market. Homicide detectives, who are yet to establish a motive for the incident, could not confirm if his murder was connected to the dispute with his fellow vendors.
The market was cordoned off for hours as police searched for clues. So far, 151 people have been murdered for the year. For the same period last year 128 were murdered.
Investigations are continuing.