[UPDATED] Gun attack on St James man and son - BOY, 10, SHOT IN THE HEAD

RELATIVES of ten-year-old Terik Patterson are describing the early morning gun attack which left him in a critical condition and with a bullet lodged in his head, as distasteful and wicked.

As he prepared for school, Terik was in the bathroom near the entrance to the ground-floor apartment in Lutchman Drive, Dibe, St James, where he lives with his father and five-year-old brother.

Gunmen stormed in and shot the schoolboy three times – once in the stomach, once in the chest and once in the head.

They then shot his father, David Patterson, 41, several times, including in the head. Patterson was asleep when the attack happened.

Relatives living upstairs in the two-storey home heard the gunfire, but by the time they reached the entrance, the gunmen had already escaped on foot along a narrow track leading to several other houses.

The victims were taken to the Port of Spain General hospital in critical condition. Soon afterwards, the child was transferred to the intensive care unit at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope.

He underwent surgery on Wednesday afternoon with surgeons removing bullets from his stomach and chest. They were unable to remove the bullet from the boy's head. Terik is a standard-four student of Ascension AC School in Dibe.

When Newsday visited, the street was almost deserted. Newsday noticed two women whispering to each other, not far from where the incident happened. One of the women said she was the child’s aunt and took Newsday to where it happened.

Blood pooled on the steps to the family home.

“People don’t have a heart any more. This is just wicked and distasteful,” Patterson’s sister told Newsday during a brief interview.

Patterson’s vitals stabilised after he had surgery just after noon, but the child’s condition continued to deteriorate. Newsday was told he lost a tremendous amount of blood.

The family believes gunmen mistook the child for his father because of his similar physique. When they realised who they had shot instead, they went looking for Patterson, who was on a mattress in the living room.

The five-year-old was still asleep in the bedroom. He escaped unharmed, but was traumatised by the incident.

Patterson's sister said, “When I come down and go inside, I see my brother on the ground bleeding from the head. I saw my nephew with blood from his head, and while I wiped, I saw a wound where a bullet lodged between his eyes, right above his nose bridge.

"It looked like he was shot in his stomach as well.”

Even with bullets in their bodies, Patterson and his son walked to his sister’s vehicle as she waited outside to take them to the hospital. She recalled almost crashing into a concrete wall along Dibe Road, as she was in shock.

Moments later she spotted a marked police vehicle heading in the opposite direction. One of the officers in the vehicle took her car with her brother and nephew and took them for treatment.

The family believe a dispute that Patterson had in the yard last Saturday, with someone he knew and who shot at him, is linked to Wednesday's shooting. She explained after Patterson and the man argued, the man returned and shot at him.

Patterson made a report to the police and the man was arrested on Monday. Police confirmed a shooting incident did take place on Saturday between Patterson and a pensioner, and confirmed the pensioner had been charged.

Patterson's sister said, “God, the child. It’s painful to see this happening all over, and it just continuing, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Crime is out of control."

Patterson’s mother interrupted: “People too evil. At seven o’clock in the morning, people lie down and wait. It’s like they didn’t sleep last night, waiting for morning to come to do this. And they moved fast.”

The Student Support Services Unit of the Education Ministry held a session with Terik’s classmates when news of the shooting spread through the community. No arrests were made up to press time.

Editor's Note: This is an updated report on the incident. The earlier story, posted online, can be read below.

RELATIVES of ten-year-old Terik Patterson are describing the early-morning gun attack which left him in a critical state as distasteful and wicked.

Terik, a standard-four student of Ascension AC School, was in the bathroom –at the entrance to their ground-floor apartment in Lutchman Drive, Dibe, St James –with his father and five-year-old brother when gunmen stormed in. He was shot in the forehead.

Gunmen then shot his father, David Patterson, several times, including a shot in the head. He was asleep when the attack happened.

Relatives living upstairs in the two-storey home heard the gunfire, but by the time they reached the entrance, the gunmen had already escaped on foot along a narrow track leading to several other houses.

The victims were taken to hospital.

When Newsday visited the area, the street was almost deserted. Newsday noticed two women whispering to each other, not far from where the incident happened.

One of the women said she was the child’s aunt and took Newsday to where it happened.

Bloodstains pooled on the steps to the family home.

“People don’t have a heart any more. This is just wicked and distasteful,” Patterson’s sister told Newsday during a brief interview.

The toddler escaped unharmed, but was traumatised by the incident.

Up to midday, both Patterson and his son were warded in hospital in critical condition.

This story was originally published with the title "Dibe boy, 10, father critical after shooting" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

RELATIVES of ten-year-old Terik Patterson are describing the early-morning gun attack which left him in a critical state as distasteful and wicked.

Terik, a standard-four student of Ascension AC School, was in the bathroom at the entrance to their ground-floor apartment in Lutchman Drive, Dibe, St James where he lives with his father and five-year-old brother when gunmen stormed in. He was shot in the forehead.

Gunmen then shot his father, David Patterson, several times, including a shot in the head. He was asleep when the attack happened.

Relatives living upstairs in the two-storey home heard the gunfire, but by the time they reached the entrance, the gunmen had already escaped on foot along a narrow track leading to several other houses.

The victims were taken to hospital.

When Newsday visited the area, the street was almost deserted. Newsday noticed two women whispering to each other, not far from where the incident happened.

One of the women said she was the child’s aunt and took Newsday to where it happened.

Bloodstains pooled on the steps to the family home.

“People don’t have a heart any more. This is just wicked and distasteful,” Patterson’s sister told Newsday during a brief interview.

The younger child escaped unharmed, but was traumatised by the incident.

Up to midday, both Patterson and his elder son were warded in hospital in critical condition.