One dead, 2 critical in South shooting spree

A SHOOTING spree in South Trinidad in which five people were shot early yesterday morning, has left one man dead and two others critically injured. One of the shooting incidents took place close to where a party was in progress at the Mon Repos Basketball Court in San Fernando, which left a disc jockey with a bullet wound in the knee, presumably caused by a stray bullet.

The man killed was identified as Kenneth Brown, 43, of Carlton Lane, San Fernando. He was shot in the chest while walking towards his home around 1 am. Unable to speculate the motive for the series of shootings, all of which occurred in the city, police said the incidents have left them baffled. Police reports stated that around midnight, a white B13 Sentra drove into Embacadere on Independence Avenue where the housing units are located and fired several shots at persons who were gambling under a tree. Shortly afterwards around 12:30 pm, the four men in the car journeyed to Carlton Lane where they shot another man on the road. He was hit in the knee but police said the man sought medical treatment at the San Fernando General Hospital then discharged himself. He refused to report the incident to the police. But a short distance away where the unidentified man was shot on Carlton Lane, the police report stated, Brown was walking along the pavement towards his home. Police are working on the theory that the men in the same white Sentra pulled up alongside him and shot him at point blank range in the chest. Brown collapsed on the road and died.

The shooting continued at Mon Repos close to the basketball court. There, Judah International Sounds of Marabella, were celebrating their fifth anniversary with a “fete” at the court. There were close to 300 people on the court which was barricaded with board and tarpaulins. Police said that preliminary investigations have led them to believe that the men stormed the party in search of someone. They then left but according to the report, shots rang out metres from along one of the three streets leading to the court. A man who was identified as Jassa Clarke, 21, of Roy Joseph Street, San Fernando, was shot in the chest. His condition at hospital yesterday was described as critical. Police said that arising from that same shooting incident, another man who was only identified as “Sunshine” was also shot. He was treated and discharged from hospital. But police investigators said yesterday that apparently, one of the bullets strayed and struck Roy Abraham, 23, who at the time was among persons operating the sound system inside the court. Abraham, of Rodney Street, Port-of-Spain, received a bullet wound in the right foot. No other person in the party which at the time of the incident was in full swing, was hurt.

Jason Braithwaite, one of Judah International Sounds’ managers, told Newsday what he witnessed. “We were at the side of the stage when I saw one of the men fall to the ground. Then, I see blood all over.” Police said that they were convinced that Abraham was struck by a stray bullet which originated from the shooting of Clarke and “Sunshine” in close proximity to  the court. Police immediately stopped the party. “Well, police said they could not allow the party to continue so as to endanger people’s lives,” Braithwaite said. Police said that Brown who was killed on Carlton Lane, did not attend the party. Andy Brown, 47, said Brown who was his cousin, lived with him and worked as a loader at the port in Pt Lisas. “I cannot make head or tail of this. This set ah shooting thing had nothing to do with Brown,” Andy said. Detectives from the San Fernando Police Station are continuing investigations.