Suspect in baby’s shooting surrenders

The suspect in Saturday’s shooting of two-year-old Candy Loubon surrendered to police early yesterday. Candy, of Penal Rock Road, Santa Maria Village in Moruga, miraculously survived gunshot wounds to the neck and left leg while outside the family’s home. She remains at the San Fernando Teaching Hospital. Pellets from a shotgun cartridge are still inside her body.

The suspect, 63, went into hiding after the shooting. But late on Sunday night he contacted a relative who is a policeman in the South Western Division about his intention to surrender.

Under the instructions of ASP Douglas and Insp Subero, the policeman, PC Corey Aguilera, went to a forested area along Penal Rock Road, arrested the suspect and took him to the Penal Police Station. The suspect was later handed over to Barrackpore police for questioning.

The child, who only on September 18 survived a horrific accident in which her left leg was broken, was said to be in a stable condition yesterday at hospital.

Doctors opted not to do surgery to remove the pellets given their location near a bone at the top of the spine, as they said she could have been left paralysed.

Candy’s father Jamie Loubon, 28, who lost his right arm in the same accident, said: “The pellets are not harming any internal vessels. They will surface to the skin.

“My concern is my daughter. It is by the grace of God that my daughter is alive. She is talking and eating as normal, and doctors said that there is no internal bleeding or anything.”

The shooting, at about 6.30 am on Saturday, stemmed from an ongoing domestic dispute next door between the suspect and another relative. A police report said during a heated argument, the suspect fired at Candy’s cousin Wendell Mike, 31, who was in the road. Mike sustained head injuries.

Pellets struck the child in the neck and leg as she was standing near her mother outside the family’s home.

Apart from Candy, Loubon and his common-law wife Cassie Fonrose, 22, had two sons. Emmanuel and Jamieson, aged four and one respectively.

The entire family was injured in the accident at Bois Jean Jean, Moruga. Doctors had to amputate Loubon’s right arm and Candy suffered a broken leg and spent more than a month recuperating in the ward at the hospital.

Despite the double whammy for the family, Loubon believes God is protecting his daughter.

“People want to know how come Candy was not crippled by the shooting. That is God, he looks after his children That is the work of Jesus. I too was close to death and I thank God every day that I am alive although I am now missing a hand,” Loubon said. “I spent six days in hospital and doctors told me that I would have had to spend three months in bed. God did not say so, so in three days I was already walking about.”

In that accident a Regiment SUV crashed into the family’s Nissan Sunny B-14, driven by Loubon.

Up to yesterday Mike remained at hospital. A third cousin, Shane Lemo, suffered minor injuries and is at home recuperating.