Arima shooting leaves man dead, toddler injured

A man was killed and a toddler wounded in a shooting in Arima on Tuesday evening.

Reports say the shooting took place around 6.45 pm at O’Meara Road, near the Orchard Street Housing Settlement.

When police arrived, they saw a black Nissan Almera idling. They found the body of 28-year-old Gabriel Ernesto, a Venezuelan, wearing a white T-shirt and khaki shorts, in the driver's seat with gunshot wounds.

Also in the car was a three-year-old girl standing on the centre console, crying, with blood on the right side of her forehead.

Arima police arrived around 7pm and identified the victim using his driver's licence.

The toddler was taken to the Arima Hospital, where she was attended to and transferred to the Wendy Fitzwilliam Paediatric Hospital in Mt Hope. She was treated for a minor wound to her head and is in a stable condition.

Police collected 15 spent 9mm shells, two bearing police markings, and 12 other spent shells as evidence. Several people who reported hearing gunshots were interviewed.