Bloodbath in Diego Martin as boy, 3, woman and two men murdered

Acting Police Commissioner Mc Donald Jacob says while police do not condone gang activity in the country, gang members, long ago, honoured a code where women and children were not the harmed in disputes, but now that seemed not to be the case.

On Sunday, a three-year-old child and a 27-year woman were among four people killed in Diego Martin.

The country also recently saw the death of another child because of gun violence. On October 15, nine-year-old Jomol Modeste was killed in a drive-by shooting at the Africa Recreation Grounds, Enterprise, Chaguanas.

In Sunday’s incident, police from the Four Roads CID and Western Division Task Force responded to a report of a shooting at around 1.20 am near Winnie Mohammed Road, Diego Martin. Four people were killed and two were wounded.

The dead are three-year-old Nazim Owen of La Puerta, Diego Martin; Chelsea Julien, 27, of Bagatelle, Diego Martin; Akil Keron Gloster of La Puerta Diego Martin and Marcus “Markie” Noel also of La Puerta.

Khadija Vilbara, and Nicholas Owen, baby Nazim’s father, also of La Puerta, are being treated at hospital.

All six were in a Nissan B15 when they were ambushed by shooters in a white station wagon.

Shards of broken glass, blood stains and a smashed wall, where the B15 hit, were visible when Newsday visited the crime scene.

The murders prompted Jacob to issue a statement.

He said he not only wanted to offer condolences to the victims’ families and friends, but also timely justice.

“Yes, the crime scene investigators, forensics personnel, homicide detectives are all out there, working assiduously to find and bring in the perpetrators. If there is CCTV footage we will use it, witnesses will be interviewed.

Thorough investigations are underway and, once again, I am appealing to anyone who has information that can lead to the capture and arrest of these murderers, we need you to come forward.”

He also called on people to “put aside that erroneous rhetoric about not being able to trust police” and said there were ways of giving information anonymously.

“Don’t sit on information that can help not only a family, but all of us to heal from this attack that affects everyone.

“If we want light to prevail, then we must do what is right. When you see something, please say something to the police.”

Julien’s mother grieves

When Newsday visited Julien’s mother, she remembered her daughter as a jovial, fun-loving mother of three.

Eunice Julien said her daughter left to go to a wedding at Maracas Beach, enjoyed the celebration and, on her way home with her boyfriend, Gloster, was followed by gunmen and shot.

“She was not involved in any criminal gang. I am not saying people in the car were not involved, but she was not involved. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“She made jokes. She loved her children. She was a very pretty girl...but that is the state of the country now.”

The grieving woman said she never thought crime would have affected her home. She said she would always look at the news and see such reports and would say, “Oh God, they killed somebody.”

Eunice said the community was saddened by her daughter’s death and she will be missed.

She (Eunice) was expecting to travel to Florida, USA soon, but might have to cancel that flight now.

Julien, she said, had a six-year-old autistic daughter and a four-year-old son who were now staying with their father.

Her (Julien’s) sister is taking care of the three-month-old baby she had with Gloster.

Eunice added that Julien was on her way to Diego Martin to breastfeed her baby when she was murdered.

“Everybody have a high-power rifle, where it coming from? Only God alone knows. I ain’t blaming anybody. I ain’t blaming Government. People will do what they want to do.

“You can put what measures in place – if they want to do badness, they will do badness,” she said.

She recalled Julien last asked her how she looked before going to the wedding and that she had on a beautiful red dress.

She told Newsday she now has to take care of her health to look after Julien’s children and “move them forward.”

Without saying exactly what she meant, Eunice told the country’s children to be obedient to their parents.

“Listen when your parents talk to you, you will go well on the earth.”

Jacob: Gov’t/Opp should strengthen Bail Act

In a telephone interview, Jacob repeated his call for the Government and the Opposition to work together to revise the Bail Act. He has been calling for this saying it was a critical tool in crime reduction.

In July, independent senators along with opposition members voted against the passing of the Bail (Amendment) (Extension of Duration) Bill 2022.

The bill needed a three-fifths majority to be passed, and the Government was seeking to extend the law, passed in 2019, for one year as there was a sunset clause which expired on August 4.

The law allowed magistrates and judges to deny bail for 120 days to people charged with specific offences under the Firearms Act, the Anti-Gang Act, the Sexual Offences Acts, the Dangerous Drugs Act, the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Trafficking in Person Act.

Jacob said while he did not constantly want to refer to Jamaica, he had to do so as the country upgraded its laws in relation to the penalties pertaining to possession of firearms and ammunition.

“I would like the administrators, both Opposition and Government, to recall that (the bill) again so when someone is held with a firearm, they are treated in a particular way, where the bail is denied.”

He said the police was putting things in place to ensure that it will be ready to go on with its matters in a short space of time, so the question of people not getting bail and the police not being ready to prosecute will be a thing of the past.

He said the police was also pleading with the judiciary to look at the fines and penalties being given to people who are held for possession of firearms, trafficking of firearms, shootings and woundings.

“We need that aspect of it to be strengthened, to act as a significant deterrent to prevent people who choose to possess firearms and carry out (illegal) activities in the country.”

Jacob said even though gangs are illegal groups operating in a society, they were still bound by rules.

Those rules included not harming or hurting women and children.

He said gangs in TT have broken all these rules and are causing mayhem in society.

“We, the police, are not condoning any kind of gang and violent activities, but it is sad to see that the people who are involved in these actions have no regard for even women and children.”

He said the police service was continually training and upgrading its officers to be able to respond appropriately when these things happen.

Jacob said the other obvious problem was the continuous entry of illegal firearms, especially high-powered rifles and submachine guns.

“That is penetrating the communities and streets in TT.

“Long ago when you had an incident probably with a handgun, you might have just a person shot. But with these submachine guns you will see three, four or even five people shot.”

Jamaica was also grappling with the flow of such firearms into that country and amended its laws to address the problem, Jacob said.

The police, he said, is working with its international partners to get these high-powered firearms off the streets.

These partners are also helping the police to penetrate these organised, criminal gangs who are sending down firearms and ammunition to TT, which has also become big business.

Jacob said one of the areas he will also treat with is how the proliferation of even legal firearms has been affecting the country.