Pastor Killed in Trinidad and Tobago on New Year's Day
The first murder victim of 2014 in Trinidad and Tobago was reported to be a Christian pastor, who was killed in a robbery supposedly over a large gold chain, while his teenage son was wounded.
Pastor Casimir Khan, 52, was reportedly shot dead around 2 a.m. local time at his home at Mausica Road, Arima on Wednesday morning, the Trinidad Express reported on Thursday. His son, 19-year-old Ezra Khan, was also wounded in the shooting but escaped alive.
"He was my best friend for fifteen years. He always smiled, was always outgoing and he always encouraged people," said Pastor Christopher Toppin, a friend of the victim. "He was honest and dedicated to family and as I said before always positive so everybody loved him because when he met you he always left you with something valuable."
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Police said that they found the body of the pastor inside the house, and found evidence showing that he had been shot multiple times. Authorities suspect that robbers waited for the pastor and his son to arrive home and might have targeted the large gold chain that Ezra was wearing that night when he went out with his father.
The teenager was moved to a number of different hospitals before arriving at San Fernando General Hospital where he was placed on a machine to help him breathe, as the bullets had struck him in his lungs and jaw. He is said to remain in critical but stable condition.
The pastor was not the only murder victim of the first day of the year in Trinidad. According to the Trinidad Express, five separate murders in total were reported on Wednesday, which made it one of the "bloodiest beginnings ever."
