Three held for shooting karateka

Three suspects in the shooting of Canadian karateka Robert McDonald were detained on Saturday night, and were being quizzed at the St Joseph Police Station yesterday. The three were held following extensive enquiries by the St Joseph police. They are expected to be placed on an identification parade today.

McDonald, 43, remained in critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital yesterday, and only his relatives were allowed to visit. On Thursday night, doctors at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital carried out emergency surgery to remove the bullet from McDonald’s head. However, a piece of the bullet remains lodged in the victim’s head. By Friday, he was breathing on his own, and spoke little when visited by his Canadian friends. But that afternoon, his condition deteriorated and he did not regain consciousness up to yesterday.

On Saturday, additional surgery was carried out in a bid to save the life of the 43-year-old father of three. His wife arrived in the country on Saturday. On Friday, the other Canadians who arrived in the country last week with McDonald checked out of the Hosanna Hotel in St Augustine where they were staying. Debbie Cooper, a spokesperson for the Canadians, told Newsday that she and others were anxious to leave the country.

McDonald and a team of Canadian karatekas were walking back to the Hosanna Hotel after having dinner at the House of Chan at Emerald Plaza, Eastern Main Road, St Augustine on Thursday night when they were confronted by three men, one armed with a gun. The gunman and his accomplices robbed the Canadians of a quantity of cash, jewelry and cellular phones. The gunman then fired a number of shots striking McDonald in the head.