PORT OF SPAIN – A state of emergency was not enough to stop the murder of 39-year-old Keegan Barbour who was shot dead early on January 1 at his home on Laventille Road. His death marks the first murder of the year in Trinidad.

Police said a group of gunmen burst into his home at 1.30 am and began shooting. Barbour ran to the back of the house but the men chased and shot him. Residents in the area called the police and PCs Ravi Chinpire and O’Connor of the San Juan CID responded.

The year ended with 625 murders, with the last murder victim of the year being attorney Randall Hector, who was killed in a drive-by ambush after leaving church on Stanmore Avenue, Port of Spain. On December 30, President Christine Kangaloo declared a state of emergency which gave police and supporting officers additional powers to fight crime. The move came after six people were killed in what was believed to be the beginning of a brutal gang war over the weekend. (Trinidad and Tobago Newsday)