War breaks out at beach fete

The Sunday bachannal was sparked from a clash between Carenage and Guayaguayare villagers over a stolen gold chain. When the dust settled, five persons, four of whom were hospitalised, had been injured by bullets and bottles.

Most seriously injured was Daren Louis, 25, of New Lands, Guayaguayare, who is warded at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital after he was shot on the right side of his neck.

The other persons, including Sean Jordon, 35, of Guayaguayare, who suffered extensive head and facial injuries; Jovan Roberts, 20, of Tunapuna, who was stabbed in the back; and Selvon Prescott, 24, of Maloney, who suffered serious head and facial injuries, are all warded at the San Fernando General Hospital.

The fifth victim, Junior Joseph, 24, of Guayaguayare, was treated for a gunshot wound to his lower leg and discharged.

About 100 maxi-taxis and scores of cars with persons from various parts of the country converged at Sea Wall Beach on Sunday for an Emancipation fete, which included live music from various disc jockeys and a music truck.

At about 6.30 pm, while the thick crowd was gyrating and frolicking to the infectious rhythms, a man’s gold chain was snatched from his neck, a police report stated.

This triggered a clash between residents of Carenage and Guayaguayare, and they began pelting glass bottles and scrambling each other. Before the police could respond, innocent bystanders, who were also caught in the crossfire, began screaming and scampering for safety. People began to panic after three gunshots rang out, causing a stampede.

During the melee, the warring parties turned their anger on the maxi-taxis, shattering windscreens, denting and scraping vehicles.

Officers on duty ended up ducking for cover, while they sent a wireless message to the Mayaro Police Station calling for immediate assistance.

Several vanloads of policemen from the Mayaro Police Station responded and had to push their way into the crowd to break up the fracas.

The police eventually subdued the crowd, but a number of persons had been traumatised by the incident, and hastily fled the beach.

Police conducted enquiries and held several persons for questioning yesterday. Up to late yesterday, no one had been charged.

ASP Copeland, Sgt Charles, PC Harper and WPC Guevero visited the scene and are investigating.