National Security ministers meet with NPTA officials

DAYS after two shootings outside places of learning – one a preschool in Malick where two men were killed, and the other outside St Francois Girls' College in Belmont, where police shot a suspect dead  – Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds and Minister in the Ministry of National Security Keith Scotland met with members of the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA) on October 3.

On September 25, two men were shot dead and three people, including a four-year-old boy, were shot and wounded, after gunmen started shooting at around 8 am outside Roxann’s Learning and Childhood Centre in Seventh Avenue, Malick.
One of the men, on being shot, ran into the preschool to try to escape. He later died at hospital. The other died outside the preschool.
Police have since said this shooting was gang-related, as one of the men was “well known” to them.

Then two days later, on September 27, two men were shot along Serraneau Road in Belmont near St Francois Girls' College around noon. Both tried to hide in underground drains near the college but  police eventually flushed them out.

Police shot man during the extrication effort and later died at the Port of Spain General Hospital.

The school was locked down after the shooting and students and teachers locked themselves into classrooms. Classes were dismissed early and parents who were picking up their children referenced the Malick shooting and said they felt “unsafe” and “traumatised.”

The ministry, in a media release issued on October 3, said Scotland told NPTA president Walter Stewart and vice president Zena Ramatali of the police rollout of increased static, foot and mobile patrols throughout five police divisions, including the Port of Spain Division.

“This is a crucial project that complements ongoing collaboration with the Ministry of Education, to combat school violence and violence in the vicinity of schools, whether involving students or not. These increased patrols are to be expanded to all ten police divisions, in short order,” the release said.

Stewart, the release added, brought several issues to the ministers’ attention, including students showing signs of gang affiliation; proactive measures to protect vulnerable youth; students loitering in uniform late at night; and people loitering near schools.

Hinds and Scotland stressed the need for sensitisation sessions for all stakeholders in the parent-teacher network, which they say are aimed at building resilience and serving as preventative interventions.

Drawing parallels to public health strategies used during the pandemic, they also highlighted the need for all stakeholders to collaborate to address the issues raised.

The ministry said, “The meeting defined a work programme and represented a pivotal moment in the collective fight for a safer educational landscape in Trinidad and Tobago.”