Rasta killed in Diego Martin

Making his trek yearly from St Madeleine Village in South to Sea Trace, Patna Village, Diego Martin in the West has come to an end for Rastafarian Glen Farrell.

Farrell, 46, was shot and robbed by two armed men on Monday morning as he left the Twelve Tribes of Israel headquarters at Sea Trace, Patna, where he had just attended the 25th anniversary of the Coronation of the founding leader of the Rastafarian  movement, Haile Selassie. Despite a valiant attempt by members of his community to save his life, he died on arrival at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

According to investigations, Farrell, a welder by trade, decided to leave at 3 am yesterday after attending Sunday’s function, to have enough time to take a rest before going to work. Decked out in gold, Farrell, who had been a member of the Rastafarian movement since 1980, was confronted by two men about 20 yards from the junction. The men, in full view of villagers, demanded he hand over his jewels and money. The father of one decided to sidestep the bandits and was shot in his leg and stomach before they grabbed the items, which included a cell phone, and ran off. Hearing the shooting, the celebrating rastas immediately ran to the scene, quickly rushing Farrell to the hospital where he died.

When Newsday visited the Twelve Tribe headquarters, except for some of the persons still decked in their party regalia, all scenes of a celebration a few hours before were replaced by very sombre looking faces. Investigations by Newsday confirmed the two men were seen lurking in the party and although noticed, no one asked why they were there until the shooting. Up until press time, police were still investigating information surrounding the shooting. However, police reports say an arrest is imminent. Sgt Duncan is spearheading enquiries.