NEW YORK, Aug 18, CMC – The funeral has taken place here Tuesday of a Trinidad and Tobago woman and her daughter who were shot and killed by a relative after he had barricaded himself in their home late last month.
Police said that Kegan Thomas, 33, is facing charges of attempted murder, murder, arson, aggravated cruelty to animals, and criminal possession of a weapon after the bodies of his mother, Clemer Ponce, 56 and his 28-year-old sister, Selena Ponce, had been discovered inside the burning home.
Clemer and her son were originally from Rousillac village in Trinidad and Tobago and the police said that the situation unfolded just before noon on Saturday July 25 at a home on Ocean Crest Boulevard when the wife of the suspect had called 911 to tell officers her husband was armed and mentally ill.
“The caller states that her husband is armed and had a history of mental illness and he ‘killed them, killed them,’” said NYPD Assistant Chief Christopher Mcintosh.
The police said when they arrived at the scene, the woman told officers that her husband, Thomas, was inside the home with a shotgun and that she heard a shot and saw a body on the bed.
Police said they tried calling Thomas, but they were unable to reach him and some time later, there was a large explosion at the home and Thomas then emerged from the home armed with a shotgun and wearing a tactical vest.
Officers told him to drop the gun, but he did not comply, so they shot him and he was taken to the hospital, where he remains in critical but stable condition.
“They basically did what they did and protected whoever was in this neighbourhood,.” said Shameeka.
The police said he will be arraigned when physically able. Thomas’ wife was not injured, but a dog and cat died from smoke inhalation inside the home
Police say Thomas was a military veteran and had no criminal history and no mental health history documented with the department.
CMC/kg/ir/2026