THREE young men who opted to do a ’day’s work’ at a plastics factory near their homes in Diego Martin ’crossed a gangland border’, for which they were hunted down yesterday and killed by two gunmen reportedly dressed in tactical police wear.

Two other young men who were injured during the shooting spree-Anthony Edwards and Dexter St Louis-both in their 20s, remained in critical condition at the Port of Spain General Hospital up to last night.

The owner of Sunspot Plastics, Robert Scoon, the husband of Foreign Affairs Minister, Paula Gopee-Scoon, pointed out that none of the deceased was on his staff but said that he was ’very, very concerned about crimes in that area and people always had to be looking over their shoulder’.

Also on the scene was Ag Police Commissioner James Philbert.

The three young men killed were identified by their parents as Khenti Murai, 19, Zaffer Calder, 15, and Kevon St Louis, 24. All three lived in the Factory Road, Diego Martin, area.

Yesterday began like any other at the factory. It was 9.15 a.m. and the young men were busy doing their ’day’s work’ when the two killers sauntered into the factory.

No-one took them seriously until they began to open fire. The first to be killed was in a container helping to off-load items. Unopposed, the gunmen continued through the factory, taking out their next target during which the other two men were injured. They re-loaded and continued.

The third victim was attempting to escape when he was killed at a back entrance of the factory.

One of the factory’s employees, who did not want her name mentioned, ’at all, at all ... allyuh mad!’ described what she heard.

Around the time she first started hearing gunshots, ’I was on the phone with the secretary (of another company nearby.) One of the other workers ran across and alerted us (that gunmen were in the building). I ran into the office and was thinking ... what to do? What to do?’

She said that she shouted at her co-workers to ’drop to the floor’.

’I was stooping and I called the police (West End Police Station) who said that someone had called before. They told me that they were on their way.

’We heard the first set of shots. It stopped and then it started back. All I hear was ... dut, dut, dut, dut, dut ... it sounded like a machinegun.’

Other employees from other factories in the area also spoke to the Express.

One woman said that two masked men entered their compound. They were armed but one assured them: ’It eh allyuh we come for,’ then left. The shocked woman said she thought it was the police.

’I mean, they were real bold-faced,’ she added.

According to Scoon, the three deceased as well as the two injured were all hired to off-load a container of plastic pellets used to make bottles. A shipment had recently arrived and it is customary that young men from the area would be hired to off-load these items.

He said that around 9.30 a.m. he was on his way to work when he got a call about the incident. ’I’ve been here 28 years,’ said Scoon, ’and something like this has never happened.’

Asked if he was going to beef up his security, he replied, ’Even if I beef up security it is very easy for them to be overwhelmed but I will beef up security.’

He continued, ’Businessmen are scared of being kidnapped and robbed. Gang members may be in their compound. It’s very, very scary. Any business that have experienced this would be traumatised. It is tough. In this area we are surrounded by hills and these hills take you straight to Macqueripe.’

The soft-spoken Scoon pointed to the hills overlooking the Factory Road area stating, ’We need an army presence on top of that hill. My workers are terrified. They were in shock. One had to go to hospital for treatment.’