Citizens arrest suspect after shootout, crash

PEOPLE enjoying food, sport and participating in the Green TT walking club's 30-minute health walk around the Queen's Park Savannah were shocked when a car broke a red light and slammed into another car during their event on September 14. The driver tried to escape on foot.

The suspect, who was driving a blue Elantra, crashed into a red Nissan Almera at Jerningham Avenue, only to be tackled and detained by the Almera's owner, Sharaz Hosein.

Hosein, a chef at Ivy Restaurant, was on his way to work.

He told Newsday after the Elantra hit his car he saw the suspect running and chased after him.

He did not know moments before the other man had allegedly been involved in a police shootout and was trying to escape police before hitting his car. A nearby vendor helped him secure the man until the police arrived.

Speaking at the scene, Hosein said his main concern was repairing his car, which he relies on to commute to work.

He said the other man told him, "Doh, shoot me, I sorry," believing Hosein was a police officer.

A witness participating in the walk reported hearing gunshots from Belmont around 4.28 pm. Shortly after, she saw the Elantra heading toward the intersection. It did not stop before crashing into Hosein's car.

She said while Hosein and the vendor restrained the driver, she called the police, and while on the phone, police arrived.

When Newsday arrived, there were about six police vehicles and several Defence Force personnel. Officers took the bleeding suspect away, putting him in the back of a police van tray as he repeatedly asked for his mother.

Newsday observed a bullet hole in the Elantra's windscreen.

The suspect is said to be a 20-year-old man from Olton Road, Arima. A quantity of marijuana was seized from his car.

Police say investigations are ongoing and officers are trying to determine who is the car's owner, as the man's name does not appear on the car’s insurance.