Paramin gardener gunned down

Police reports revealed that Arnold Fornillier was repairing neighbour Celia Beharry’s car, when a gunman pumped five bullets into him before fleeing the scene.

Fornillier was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (PosGH) where he died at about 9 pm.

His murder is the 147th for the year, and police believe the killing was robbery-related.

At Cameron Hill in Paramin yesterday, Anthony Fornillier, the dead man’s brother, was in tears as he spoke about his brother.

He said Arnold was a gardener who owned a parlour. He was also described as being a quiet person who did not interfere with people.

As tears streamed down Anthony’s face, he said his brother left Cameron Hill on Wednesday morning, saying he was going to Diego Martin to repair a car belonging to Celia Beharry.

He said that was the last time he saw his brother alive. The grieving man said he received the news that Arnold had been killed early yesterday, "I went into a state of shock, and it seems that I cannot get over this," he added. The dead man’s neighbours also expressed shock and sadness over the killing.

Celia Beharry, the woman whose car Arnold was repairing when he was killed, said that around 7 pm, she went for a candle for Arnold, since he needed light to repair the car. She added that as she turned her back, she heard about five gunshots and stood frozen on the spot.

She later rushed to Arnold and saw him slumped over in a pool of blood. Officers of the West-End Police Station were alerted, and the injured man was rushed to the PosGH.

He died around 9 pm, while undergoing emergency surgery.

Police investigators told Newsday that Fornillier had a quantity of cash in his pockets and the money was missing after he was shot.

Inspectors Lezama, Monilal and Sgt James Martin visited the scene and are investigating.