(Updated) Shot man runs through Belmont school

Several students of the Providence Girls Catholic School were left shaken after a shot man escaped his attackers by running through the school compound on Thursday morning.

Police said the 38-year-old man was shot on Davis Street, Belmont, at around 7 am by a man in black clothing. The victim ran through the schoolyard in a bid to escape his attacker.

Staff at the school later told police they heard screams from students who reported seeing the wounded man running through the compound.

Police later found the bleeding man walking along Belmont Circular Road and took him to the general hospital.

Port of Spain Task Force police visited the school and searched it and the surrounding area to ensure the gunman was not lurking. No arrest has been made and Belmont police are investigating.

Newsday visited the school on Thursday morning as students were leaving. Some of them wrote their Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) geography exams that day.

A parent who was waiting for his daughter outside the school said he was unsettled by the incident and hopes there is a more proactive police response to crime.

“I actually intended to stay here for her until she finished the exam, but then I decided to give her some space and go home. It’s really frightening because you don’t think something like this would happen...but here we are."

Newsday asked to speak with the principal but was told by a security guard at the gate that the principal would not be seeing anyone.

Responding to Newsday’s questions via WhatsApp, Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said approval for early dismissal at the school was given and officials from the ministry’s Student Support Services Division visited the compound.

Gadsby-Dolly said while CSEC exams continued on Thursday and will be held today at the school, counselling for students will also continue today.

The above story has been updated with additional details. It was first published under the headline Man flees gunfire onto school compound