Homeless man murdered in East Port-of-Spain, ending T&T's 10-day murder-free run

Trinidad and Tobago's 10-day stretch without a murder ended Friday when a man was found dead in East Port-of-Spain. PM Persad-Bissessar called the broken streak a "small milestone."

Murder of homeless man in Duncan Street ends 10-day reprieve

Trinidad and Tobago had gone 10 days without a recorded murder — a stretch Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar described as a "small milestone" in the country's fight against crime — before a killing in East Port-of-Spain on Friday brought it to a close, guardian.co.tt reports.

The victim, later identified as 65-year-old Ricardo "Half Breed" Flatts, was found unresponsive along Duncan Street around 1.10 pm by officers of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) assigned to the Duncan Street Police Post.

Officers had responded after a worker at a nearby Housing Development Corporation (HDC) apartment building was alerted to the injured man's presence by a female resident. Flatts, who is believed to have been homeless, had apparent injuries and was transported by ambulance to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, where a doctor pronounced him dead on arrival.

Crime scene investigators visited the location, taking photographs and collecting blood samples. Homicide detectives, according to Guardian Media, are awaiting autopsy results to determine the exact cause of death. Detectives of the Region One Homicide Bureau are continuing investigations.

In a Facebook post, Persad-Bissessar acknowledged the murder had ended the 10-day period but maintained that steady progress was being made toward the Government's anti-crime objectives. She thanked law-abiding citizens for their support in curbing crime and said the Government looked forward to "greater progress" in the coming months.

Source: Google News TT — Crime