A teenage fisherman was shot dead while in a pirogue in the waters off Icacos Point, Cedros, on Thursday night.

And investigators are trying to determine whether Hosein ’Mario’ Mohammed, 19, and Ramlal Ramdial, 50, were attacked by pirates.

Mohammed was the 451st known murder of the year.

The men were sailing near Venezuelan waters when a vessel pulled alongside their pirogue around 10 p.m., police said.

Ramdial said he was about to turn around his boat when the men began shooting. Police said he could not say whether the occupants were Venezuelans.

Mohammed, who lived at Icacos Village, Cedros, was shot twice in the head. He collapsed inside the pirogue, police said.

Mohammed was later taken to the Point Fortin District Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Investigators said no fishing equipment was found on the boat.

Mohammed’s relatives refused to speak with the Express yesterday.

The area is considered one of the most dangerous because it is frequently used by smugglers to bring in guns, drugs and contraband from the Venezuelan mainland to ports along Trinidad’s south coast and peninsula. Cedros police are continuing investigations.