Man, wife, son gunned down, relative critical – Shot as they slept

HOUSE OF DEATH: The house in Friendship Village, San Fernando where a woman, her husband and their son were all fatally shot on the morning of October 10. - Photo by Angelo Marcelle

COLD-HEARTED gunmen stormed a house in Friendship Village, San Fernando during the early morning hours on October 10, shooting a family of four while they were all asleep and leaving three of them – a man, his wife and their son dead, and the son's wife in critical condition.

The shooting, which rocked the quiet village, brought to an end, a particularly bloody week in which at least 12 people were murdered in different areas of the country between October 6 and October 10.

Shocked and dazed, relatives of the family which was almost wiped out in one single act of violence, claimed they were clueless as to the reason or motive behind the deadly shooting.

Gracelyn Ramberan, 48, wasn't able to shout for help as she was cut down in a hail of bullets and died inside her house. Her son Randy Rampersad, 25, a gardener, stumbled out of the house after being shot multiple times but only got as far as the road before collapsing and dying on the ground.

Gracelyn's husband Vijai Rampersad and Randy’s wife Kimberly Rampersad were also shot but were still breathing when the killers fled. Both were taken to San Fernando General Hospital in critical condition.

Nine hours later, Vijai, a construction worker and PH taxi driver who operated along the San Fernando-Borde Narve taxi route, died at hospital. His daughter-in-law Kimberly Rampersad was in critical condition up to Friday evening.

News of Vijai's passing caused a fresh wave of tears among family members. "My brother just called meh and said that Vijai now dead. I'm not in Friendship Village right now," a close relative told Newsday by phone.

Gracelyn Ramberan and her husband Vijai Rampersad who were shot dead in their Friendship Village, San Fernando home. -

Police said the shooting took place around 2.30 am on the ground floor of the family's two-storey home at Peterloo Street Extension.

Gunmen reportedly entered through the front door and opened fire on the sleeping family.

Ramberan's body was found at the entrance of the house, while her son's body was discovered on the road outside.

The sound of rapid gunfire awakened a relative who lives in another part of the house. Speaking about the incident, the relative who asked not to be identified, said when he went to check, he saw Randy lying dead on the road, wearing only a pair of boxers.

Vijai and Kimberly, both bleeding heavily, were seen nearby walking with dazed looks on their faces, the relative said. The two were placed in a vehicle and taken to hospital.

Speaking outside the house, another relative, who asked to remain anonymous, said, "I was not here, but that hour in the morning, people were sleeping. Upstairs does not have a back step, so it is one way in and one way out of the house. Randy was her only son. It did not look like the gunmen took anything from the house. They did what they did, then left.

"By the time the shooting stopped and people began to gather, the gunmen were long gone. This is the first time our family has experienced something like this," the relative said.

SHOT DEAD: Randy Rampersad who was shot dead in his Friendship Village, San Fernando home. -

Relatives and residents said they were unsure who the intended target was or what the motive could be. Nothing appeared to have been stolen from the home, suggesting that robbery was not the motive. The killers are believed to have escaped through nearby bushes in different directions, leading to Cipero Street.

Among the first responders were officers from the Ste Madeleine Police Station. Snr Supt Dhilpaul, Supts Jaikaran and Persad, others from the Southern Division, and detectives from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations (Region III) visited the scene and gathered evidence.

The triple murder has left the tight-knit community on edge.

"This is usually a quiet area. People normally lime together," a resident said. "Now we just don't know. This is a hard one to take." This deadly attack comes just weeks after the murder of 13-year-old Mariah Seenath, in the same community.

Residents said they did not believe the triple murder was linked to Seenath's murder. A candlelight vigil is set for October 11 at Cipero Road (near Chiney Wrecking Services) in memory of Seenath. The owner of this wrecking service, Gary Mohan, 39, was gunned down at the businessplace in June.

Police sources said that no arrest has been made in the triple murder and investigations are ongoing.