Man runs amok in Petit Valley

A 31-year-old Cocorite man ran amok yesterday, reportedly shooting his former lover and her new found boyfriend in front of the woman’s three children at a house located at Kavy Crescent, Pioneer Drive, Petit Valley.

The victims, identified by police as Brenda DeSilva, 29, and Maurice Phillip, 30, of Cocorite, were up to late evening warded in critical condition at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital after being shot several times. Late last night police reported that Phillip had died from bullet wounds. DeSilva was shot three times, once in the left chest and twice on the right leg, while Phillip was shot about four times, including the head, chest and foot. The suspect, said by residents to be a construction worker, was up to late evening assisting officers of the West End Police Station. He is not the father of the three children, Amanda, 11, Shawnee, 9, and Brandon, 7. He reportedly confessed about the shooting incident to a 74-year-old man of Barker Trace, also in Pioneer Drive.  The elderly man told Newsday that his daughter saw a strange man in his gallery just before 3 pm yesterday.

“I don’t know from whence he came,” the man, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Newsday. He, however, said the man was “trembling like a leaf, and crying.” He added that the suspect said he ran away because he was afraid residents would beat him. He further told Newsday that the suspect informed him that he had just shot and killed a man and that he had thrown the gun in some bushes. He said the suspect told him to call the police, and also told him that on several occasions he warned Phillip not to come to his home, which he had built. He said the police later came and held the suspect, after which they frisked him in search for the gun, which was later located after a second try by police in the hills of Kavy Crescent. 

The weapon has been identified by police as a .38 pistol. Investigators said the man told them he bought the firearm from a woman in Tunapuna. It is believed to be stolen, senior police officers said. The suspect assisted the police in their search for the gun and was later seen coming out of some bushes, while being held by the police.  Dressed in green, the man also had a pair of sneakers tied around his neck. DeSilva’s eldest child, Amanda, confirmed the suspect had been living at the house, but said she could not say how long her mother and the suspect had been separated. Amanda said she and her other siblings were in the bedroom of their wooden house with their mother and Phillip. The young girl said a man subsequently came into the house and just started to shoot. 

The man said nothing, Amanda told Newsday, adding that she and Shawnee ran out of the house, but Brandon stayed inside. The child did not want to say any more, but residents told Newsday that DeSilva ran to a neighbour’s house opposite where she lives, while the bleeding Phillip remained inside. A report was made and a party of officers headed by Western Division head, Sr Supt Stephen Quashie, and including Insp Julius, acting Insp Anthony Lezama, Cpls Francis Rivas and Constantine visited the scene. DeSilva was first taken to the Seventh-Day Adventist Hospital at Cocorite in a car, while Phillip was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, where he later died. DeSilva’s sister-in-law, Lauren Hypolite, told reporters that when they arrived at the institution, the shooting victim was given drips. Hypolite said DeSilva was suffering from internal bleeding and was gasping for breath. DeSilva was later transferred to the city hospital, a worker at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital told Newsday. Hypolite, who was in tears, further told reporters that DeSilva and the suspect had been separated for about four months. Hypolite said both DeSilva and the suspect were supposed to go to court today regarding a restraining order. Cpl Rivas of the West End Police Station is continuing investigations.