Added to the pain of losing her husband of 15 years, Crystal Ali said it is even more painful now knowing his last moments are circulating on social media in an 11- second video.
Ali’s husband, Kevin Rama, was shot dead along with her cousin, Jerome Vickles, on Sunday night along Watts Trace near Kinshasa Restaurant and Bar.
Rama’s killing has been widely circulated on Facebook and Whatsapp. In the video Rama is seen running in the same direction as Vickles’ killer before the gunman turns on him and shoots him.
A collapsed Rama is then shot again as police officer Cpl Elkene Avis engages the killer. Avis is shot in the leg while the killer runs off.
Police reports are that the two men were involved in a scuffle outside the bar just before 7 pm on Sunday.
Following the fight one man pulled out a gun and shot Vickles before turning the gun on Rama. While attempting to flee the scene the killer was shot at and he returned fire hitting Cpl Avis before escaping.
In a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Ali said: “Seeing that hard and my son saw it too and all now he still can’t eat. He is still in shock since Sunday. He asking why someone would do that to his daddy. It real hurt seeing that video.”
At the Forensic Science Centre, St James, Ali said her husband was not involved in criminal activity but simply went to part a fight between his cousin and the killer.
During the telephone interview she said the killer and Vickles’ brother had a disagreement and Vickles, a 96.1FM disc jockey, tried to intervene. The killer then left and returned killing Vickles, 27, and Rama, 31. Both men lived at Belle Smythe Street, Curepe.
Ali added: “I am telling you my husband wasn’t in any badman or ranking thing. I can say that about my husband. It’s 15 years we together.
“We have one son and he’s dealing with it hard. I would miss the togetherness me and my husband had because anywhere you see him you see me unless we working.”
The following message was posted on Facebook yesterday morning: “The management and staff of Trinidad and Tobago Radio Network (TTRN) send condolences to the family and friends of Jerome Vickles and Kevin Rama. May you all find peace and comfort at this difficult time.
“Selector Jerome entered and won the Stoli DJ competition on @961wefm in August 2016. He displayed a level of turntable skill and had the sharp instincts of someone who had put years of dedication and hard work into one’s craft.
“He was immediately offered a position to join our on-air team and this ‘screenshot’ of a whatsapp conversation he had with assistant programme director, Cleveland “Raw Fusion” Davis, during his first shift on-air says it all.
“On Sunday Oct 16 we lost a friend, a team member and the dream of someone who was striving for greatness. RIP.” JLV
Police criticised and praised
Corporal Elkene Avis, who was caught on CCTV footage engaged in a shootout with the killer of Jerome Vickles and Kevin Rama on Sunday night is being praised and criticised on Facebook.
The officer, attached to Northern Division assigned to Cumuto Police Station, was criticised for failing to shoot the suspect and instead was shot by the killer.
Some comments questioned Avis’ training given his inability to hit his target while others hailed him a hero for risking his life in attempting to subdue the escaping murderer.
The T&T Guardian telephone his station yesterday and was told Avis was doing well at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex and is expected to undergo surgery today to remove the bullet.
One officer when told of the criticisms levelled against Avis said it was a case of “damned if you do and damned if you don’t”.
The officer added: “If he had hit a plane or a bird people would still cirticise, I don’t know what people want.”
On Facebook one comment read: “That officer could have died. He suppose to take down that man. That was a very easy kill. Some officers need more training”. Another stated: “The officer tried his best. He didn’t give up. These bandits is professional too.”
The two comments seemed to be the consensus of most of those who typed their opinion about the shooting with others lamenting the crime situation in the country and calling for prayers.