Praise for 'protector' of murder victim's daughter: Mystery saviour in red

The unidentified man who held and comforted a four-year-old girl after her father was murdered in Siparia has received praise for his kind gesture.

On Monday afternoon, the girl was standing next to her father, prison officer Nigel Jones, 38, at the Fyzabad taxi stand in Siparia, where gunmen shot and killed him.

Video footage of the drive-by shooting shows the girl running and screaming hysterically in a car park near the taxi stand. The mystery man, referred to as the man in the red jersey, immediately ran towards her and grabbed her. He hugged and rubbed her back.

A driver told Newsday on Wednesday, "She could have easily run into a car. The child did not know what to do, and his protective instinct kicked in. It seems he was talking to a man but dashed to help her."

Another driver said, "We have no clue who he is. It seemed he was a random guy who was there in the car park. We cannot make out the face. Everyone wants to know who he is because he did well."

When the murder happened, the car park attendant had already left for the day, and several drivers were parked there.

For the third consecutive day on Wednesday, a Newsday team visited the taxi stand hoping the mystery man would return. But no one had seen him there for the day.

Jones’s relatives said the man handed over the child to relatives, who arrived at the murder scene within minutes.

"We have seen his face but don’t know his name or where he is from. He came today to meet her (the girl’s) mother, but she was not here (Siparia)," one of Jones’s brothers told Newsday.

"At least we too get to meet him. I believe he might have been a former fire officer. I have seen him around, but do not know him personally."

The mystery man was expected to visit the family again.

On the state of the girl, the relative responded, "She is strong. After all, she is her father's daughter."

The girl’s mother, a psychologist, was not at home when Newsday visited.

Jones and his daughter, who lived in Fyzabad, were waiting for a taxi to go home when he was killed.

Jones had spent the day at his family’s Siparia home, where he watched two movies and tried to repair his car. He picked up his only child from a nearby daycare centre and went to buy a few items with her before heading home.

Jones worked at the Wayne Jackson Building (Building 13) at the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca.

His co-worker Trevor Serrette, 48, was gunned down on Friday at his fruit stall in Valencia.

Police are also investigating Wednesday night’s shooting in El Dorado, in which the intended target was believed to be a female prison officer.

Prison officers claim there is a plot by prisoners to kill them.

Investigations are ongoing.