Three killed in shootout with SORT

Three men are dead and one man is wounded after a shootout with members of the Special Operations Response Team (SORT) in Vickey Trace, off La Canoa Road, Santa Cruz, on Monday afternoon.

Police said members of SORT were in the area at around 3 pm when they were fired upon by gunmen from on top of a hill. Officers shot back hitting the men.

The men, Nicholas Seemungal, 17, Kareem "Cookie" Isaac, 21 and Tajniar Charles, 22 were taken to the hospital where they were declared dead on arrival. One pistol was seized after the shooting.

The wounded man was also taken to the hospital by police where he was treated.

Newsday visited the scene where residents protested the killings and disputed the official account given by police.

One woman, Alicia Francis who said she was a surrogate mother to Seemungal claimed he would not have shot at the police.

"He used to give people a little trouble but he didn't deserve this. He and his mother didn't used to go down too well so I decided that as my son's friend, I wouldn't allow him to go astray on the road and he has been living with me on and off for the longest while.

"He wasn't going to school, he got in a little trouble with the law. He and his mother didn't always see eye to eye so I took him in. I remember warning him about going out there on the streets."

Police said Seemungal, Isaac and Charles had multiple matters before the court for the possession of a robbery shooting, the possession of firearm and ammunition.

An autopsy is expected to be performed at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on Tuesday.