Port of Spain businessman first murder for 2026

Relatives of Ricky "Fish" Taylor console each other, at the crime scene where he was gunned down on the corner of George and Prince Streets, Port of Spain on January 1. - Angelo Marcelle

A PORT OF SPAIN shop owner is the first murder victim for the year.

He has been identified as Ricky “Fish” Taylor.

Residents told Newsday Taylor was liming with other people on George Street, when at about 1.30 pm he went to his shop a short distance away, on the corner of George and Prince Streets, to buy beers. Just then a masked gunman ran up to him and shot him three times before escaping.

He died at the scene.

When Newsday visited the crime scene police officers were still gathering evidence from the shooting in full view of Port of Spain residents and Taylor’s relatives. Little children and other passers by stopped and stared at the man’s body while investigators marked and collected spent shells. As crime scene investigators worked the money he collected for the beers fell from his clenched fist and blew onto the pavement where he laid.

Residents in the area expressed shock over the man’s murder.

“I and all standing here and wondering what went on there,” said one bystander who didn’t want to be named. “First day for the year and is a murder right in front of your face. I was in the bar watching the Play Whe and I heard this thing sounding like fire crackers. Next thing I know a man telling me is someone lying dead on the ground.”

Another resident who didn’t want to be named shared a chilling conversation overheard moments before Taylor was shot dead.

“Do you believe, the last thing a man told him in jest is ‘yeah we hear is you only watching on the camera and telling police and thing.’”

“He was laughing at the joke and walking there and within seconds we heard the gunshots.”

Political leader of the Love political party Lennox Smith said he was liming with Taylor moments before he was shot dead.

“Moments before he died we chipped up for stocks,” Smith said. “He was supposed to be the chef… we just gave him some money to augment the stock that we had here (buy more beers). We were planning to have a wonderful get together as the first day of the year, but minutes later – I was inside at the time – we heard one, two then three shots.

He also alluded that if there was a conflict between him and other residents in the community, it didn’t have to devolve to violence.

“Fish is not wanted or known by police… this is very unfortunate for us. It is debilitating, but we will not be daunted. In fact, just before the Christmas we saw some of the boys liming on the block right in front his shop and we called them and whoever had children, we gave them hampers… If there was some incident that Fish might have been involved in, in terms of some kind of conflict, the least they could have done is come and talked – to me at least – and we would have found some kind of solution.”

At the end of 2025, TT recorded 369 murders according to a Newsday count, at least 43 per cent lower than the murder toll the year before.