Woman killed, entertainer shot at Port of Spain hotel

A 25-year-old woman, a top performer in finance studies in 2019, was murdered on Friday, the day after her birthday.

Police reported that, at about 2.15 pm, they received a report that a car had been shot at and two people injured at the carpark of the Brix Hotel, Cascade. Police and emergency health services took the two to hospital.

Bridget James was declared dead on arrival at the Port of Spain General Hospital (PoSGH). Hospital officials said she was shot in the head, back and chest.

In November 2019, James was celebrated as the Caribbean’s top performer in advanced financial management at ACCA Caribbean. She credited her success to her family and friends and encouraged those studying accounting to study with their peers and practise previous exam papers.

A local dancehall artiste who goes by the name “Kalonji” was also shot in the attack. He is warded in a serious condition. Kalonji, who is  from Tobago, has sung lyrics promoting gun violence and is heard lauding ABG in two songs, Triple and Low Low. ABG, which stands for Anybody Gets It, is the name of a gang with small membership in Port of Spain and surrounding areas, police said. There is currently an ongoing war between Rasta City and Six in the Port of Spain police division. ABG and Six, police said, have formed an alliance.

Sources at the PoSGH said Kalonji was asking for James after the two were brought in, but had not been informed she was dead up to 5 pm.

James’s death is being classified as gang-related even though police said she was not a known gang member.

Friday’s shooting is the second for the year in the hotel’s carpark. In January, 38-year-old Mark Andrew was killed there. Police reported that they received a report of gunshots at about 2.45 pm on January 29.

In a statement to Newsday, the management at Brix said it was working closely with police on the most recent shooting.

“The safety and security of our guests is our number-one priority and we are currently reviewing our security protocols. At this time we are co-operating with local authorities regarding the ongoing investigation.”

While at the scene, Newsday saw guests checking in and some making an earlier-than-planned checkout.

Newsday visited the hospital and spoke with relatives of James, but they chose not to provide any information without the authorisation of other members of the family, who had already left by the time Newsday arrived.

Even though police identified her, James remains “unidentified” at the morgue as no form of identification had been provided to hospital staff by the time the morgue closed at 4 pm.