Shots fired as rival gangs face off at nightclub - MAYHEM ON THE AVENUE

A FIGHT between rival gangs, in which shots were fired and bottles thrown, brought a party in a nightclub on Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, to a premature end during the early hours of Sunday.

The mayhem, caught on video which was shared to social media, which quickly went viral, came mere hours before this country hosts a two-day Caricom symposium on crime as a public health issue.

In the video, people are seen pouring out of the club and seconds later, gunshots are heard and a voice says, “Shots fired.”

Officers of the Port of Spain Task Force received a report of a fight at the Coco Club on the corner of Ariapita Avenue and Carlos Street at around 2.30 am and when they went there, they found people running in different directions

Police found one man who had a wound to the left side of his face. He was taken to hospital.

Patrons at the club told police members of two rival city gangs had an argument on the pavement and began fighting and throwing glass bottles at each other.

Police said shots were also fired when the members of one gang got to their car, which was parked nearby. There were no reports of anyone being injured by gunshots.

Officers from the Western Division Task Force also visited and searched for gang members, but no arrests were made. Police said a known gang member from the Beetham was involved in the scuffle.

Port of Spain police said they were concerned about the incident and intend to increase their presence on Ariapita Avenue and other liming spots to prevent similar incidents.

One officer said information suggested the gangs were observing a truce and usually gathered on the avenue to lime, so he was unsure exactly what led to the fight.

“The gangs always lime on the avenue, it’s kind of like neutral territory, but for some reason tempers flared last night. They happened to see each other last night and things got out of hand.

"It’s possible they saw one person from the opposing side who was by himself. But usually there (the avenue) is common ground where anyone can go to lime,” a police source said.

Other sources said the gangs involved were from the Beetham and St Paul Street, east Port of Spain.

Police said they would be viewing CCTV security camera footage from nearby businesses as part of their enquiries.

“We are keeping an eye on this, especially on Friday and Saturday nights.

“We will have to talk with the bar owners and ask them to consider having police work at the doors in these places.”

Speaking with Newsday, a worker at the Coco Club who asked not to be named said the incident was unfortunate but noted staff and security did their best to protect patrons during the incident.

The worker, who was at the club during the incident, said three security guards were working at the time and closed the doors to the building when it was filled to capacity, to better manage the crowd.

“There was security at different points but for some reason the situation took a bad turn. We are still unsure on what led to all of this, but there was a lot of bottles being thrown around the place.

“At that point we turned on the lights and the MC allowed people to leave while security opened back the doors, and that’s when we heard the gunshots.”

The worker believed guns may have been left in a vehicle, since all patrons were searched before being allowed to enter.

She said the incident was unfortunate but was the first of its kind.

“They didn’t throw anything at the staff or attack the staff. They even left the majority of the patrons alone. But there were people in the crowd who appeared to be targeted specifically.

“The police came after we called and they patrolled for about a half an hour after the incident to make sure everything was all right.”

The Coco Club, in an official statement posted on its Instagram account, apologised to patrons for the incident and condemned the actions of those involved.

The statement also stressed that no guns were fired inside.

“Our security was unable to intervene due to the (number) of individuals (who) were involved in the dispute.

“However they did assist in safeguarding as many people as possible who were not involved.

“Thankfully the (glass) bottle splinters did not cause serious injuries to anyone.

“The management team at Coco Club does not support or endorse any gang violence in our facility and we will do everything we can to prevent or make the environment more secure during subsequent events.”

Marsha Razak, proprietor of the Tzar nightclub, which shares the same building but is on the top floor, said the incident happened after Tzar closed.

“We have to manage people who are getting intoxicated, so we always have a lot of security and we vet our patrons before they come in,” Razak said.

Port of Spain mayor Joel Martinez said he saw videos of the incident, which he described as unfortunate.

Referring to a shooting on Ariapita Avenue early on Carnival Saturday morning which led to the deaths of Atiba Rodriguez and another man identified only as Javon, Martinez said he is concerned over violent incidents and intends to raise the issue with Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher.

“It’s necessary and important to ensure patrons and visitors are safe, because that’s where visitors go to to have a good time. We have to take care of them.

“We have family members who go down there all the time. The last thing you want to hear is a fight breaks out and someone is stabbed or shot or something...so we have to put things in place to discourage that kind of nonsense."

Martinez added that the Port of Spain City Council, the government and Woodbrook residents have worked hard to try to make Ariapita Avenue a clean and safe place for the public and he was very disappointed over the incident.

He also hopes more police will be deployed on the avenue during peak liming hours.

“I have seen, at other venues similar to Ariapita Avenue around the world, that there are a lot of police either on bicycles or they walk through the area.

“We need to do something like that now, because if incidents like this continue to happen, it will leave a bad taste in the mouths of citizens and visitors.

“If we want to ensure economic development takes place, where people can come and feel free to enjoy themselves and be safe, it means we have to put things in place as a city, because security is paramount.”

Port of Spain police are continuing enquiries.