Six die by bullets within eight hours

SIX people died by bullets within eight hours between Friday and yesterday morning, while two police officers were shot and are now hospitalised. In the first instance, three bandits identified as Sherwin Samuel, formerly of Nelson Street, Port-of-Spain, Ismael Clarke, of Building Six Maloney Gardens, D’Abadie and Shawn Sargeant of Lackpat Street, Tunapuna were shot dead following a shoot out with police on Friday night which started at the Trincity Mall and ended on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway. Also shot in the crossfire were two members of the Northern Division Task Force — Cpls Junior Bernard and Surujnath Jagdeo. Police  seized a 9mm pistol, a Glock semi-automatic pistol with laser light and the bullet-riddled car that was stolen from a visitor to the mall the night before by two men at gunpoint.

Around 7 pm officers of the Northern Division Task Force (NDTF) were on mobile patrol when they responded to a report that three men were seen acting suspiciously in a silver grey Almera car circling the compound of the Trincity Mall following a Securicor Security company armoured vehicle which had collected the day’s sales from several stores located in the mall.The officers engaged the car and its occupants who opened fire. The NDTF officer responded but two were shot in the process. Other patrols in the area responded and confronted the silver grey Almera heading south along the Trincity Link Road. A heavy exchange of gunfire took place as the bandits drove past the approaching officers, but the vehicle eventually crashed at a gravel pit 200 metres from the Mall on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway. The bleeding men were rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where they were pronounced dead on arrival.

The injured officers were taken to the Eric Williams Medical Complex where up to press time they were listed in a satisfactory condition. Visiting the scene were CoP Everald Snaggs, ACP Crime Oswyn Allard, Snr Supt Bastien and Insp Modeste. In the other incident, at around 7.30 pm on Friday Jefferson Jones, 22, was shot dead while walking along Patna Village, Diego Martin in the vicinity of the “Savannah”. When Sunday Newsday visited the area residents claimed they heard several shots but did not inquire until later when they found Jones’ bullet-riddled body. Later,  at about midnight Mathias Thomas also called Wayne Shane, 41, a skilled tradesman employed with the Ministry of Works was sitting with his girlfreind on a chair at her Wood Alley, Never Dirty, Morvant home when a lone gunman walked up to him and fired a shot to his head. The bleeding man stumbled a short distance away where he collapsed. The gunman then approached again firing six more shots.

Jude Thomas, the younger brother of Shane said: “It is because of jealousy, people ‘jealousing’ the strides my brother was making that he was killed.” Jude also described his brother as a quiet person who takes his little ‘herbs’ but didn’t trouble anyone. Investigations revealed Shane and another resident had a confrontation about his new American girlfriend and was recently threatened if he did not leave her he would be killed. In still another incident at around 3 am yesterday residents of Upper Sandy Trace, St Barb’s, Laventille heard several gunshots but did not respond. Sometime later at the side of the road they found the body of a man which bore no identification and is not known.