(UPDATED) Two confirmed dead, four wounded in Laventille shooting

The murders of at least three people, including a prison officer, in two separate incidents brings the toll for the year to 412. The murders mark what could be another bloody week, as ten people have been murdered since last Thursday.

In the earlier incident, six people were shot at a house in Desperlie Crescent, Laventille. Of the six, two people died from their wounds.

The deceased have been identified as 17-year-old Jevon Charles from Tobago and 17-year-old Josiah Francis. Tobagonian Anthony Bacchus, 32, was originally identified as one of the fatalities. Although police sources told Newsday Bacchus was among those killed, a relative told Newsday on the morning of November 30 that he was alive and had had surgery to remove six bullets.

Sources told Newsday the gunmen passed in front of the house in a car. The car stopped and the occupants opened fire on the house. The men then got out of the car and went inside. Then, residents in the area heard more gunshots.

At about 1.30 pm prisons officer Nigel Jones, assigned to the Wayne Jackson building of the Maximum Security prison, was shot dead while at the Fyzabad taxi stand in Siparia.

A CCTV video depicted the prison officer standing with his daughter waiting for a taxi. Just then a silver Mazda 3 drove in front of him and an occupant of the car shot Jones several times before the car sped off.

Jones fell to the ground dead as the little girl ran off screaming.

Jones was the second prison officer in less than a week to be murdered. Last Thursday PO II Trevor Serette was at his business place on the Eastern Main Road, Valencia with a relative, when a gunman got out of an Nissan AD station wagon and shot him several times before getting back into the car and driving off.

Prisons Commissioner Dennis Pulchan called the killers cowards.

“This is an attack on the prison service and the country,” Pulchan said. “This is an attack on law enforcement officers perpetrated by a group of prisoners in Jackson Building at the MSP. These cowards and murderers cannot be killing hard-working prison officers who just came to do a job.”

MURDERS IN THE PAST 5 DAYS

Akeem Alexander – Shot dead on Thursday on Nimblette Street, Enterprise

Prison officer Trevor Serette –shot dead on Friday in Valencia

Akeba Hunte – shot dead on Friday on Upper Dibe, Long Circular Road, St James

Shane Burke – shot dead on Trainline Road Malabar, on Saturday

Anthony Fuentes – shot dead on La Retreat Road, Arima on Saturday

Nicholas Corbin – shot dead at Picton Housing Development on Saturday

Dishawn Mc Clean – shot dead on Lodge Road Claxton Bay on Sunday

Jevon Charles

Josiah Francis (All three shot dead on Desperlie Crescent, Laventille)

Prison officer Nigel Jones – shot dead at Fyzabad taxi stand, Siparia

Editor's note:
The original version of this story listed Anthony Bacchus among the casualties, on the basis of information from police sources. This error has since been corrected with information obtained on November 30 from family members.
We apologise for any distress or confusion caused by this error.