Highway shooting leaves man dead, 2 women injured near Arima

ONE man is dead and two women are injured after gunmen opened fire on the car they were in on the night of November 22.

The deceased man has been identified as Julio Layne, of Temple Street, Arima.

Reports say Layne was returning home after liming at the Brickhouse Bar in Valencia with two women, aged 32 and 24, both from Pineapple Drive, Valencia.

The 32-year-old woman was driving the silver-grey B-15 when gunmen forced her off the roadway, causing the car to collide with a guardrail. The gunmen then opened fire on them. Layne got out of the front passenger seat and began running when he was shot multiple times.

Layne died at the scene, while both women were reported to be injured. The incident occurred on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway near Santa Rosa.

When emergency services arrived, the 24-year-old woman was found bleeding in the back seat.

The driver was not shot but was injured as a result of the crash. A total of 47 spent casings were recovered.

On April 17, Layne’s sister, Alana Layne, and another woman were liming at a birthday celebration on St Rose Street, off Temple Street, Arima, when gunmen opened fire. Alana was shot in the head and died four days later.

Police reports said six armed men surrounded the house and opened fire on the family. CCTV footage from the night showed a shootout between two of the gunmen and someone at the party.

Three men were arrested and each charged with eight offences: two murders, four wounding charges and possession of arms and ammunition.

In 2007, Layne’s grandmother, Lilly Layne, was shot and killed at Nutones and Despers Crescent. She was approached by a gunman who shot her four times at point-blank range. She ran a short distance before collapsing on the road, where she bled to death.

Lilly had appeared before Justice Malcolm Holdip in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court in 2005, charged with possession of drugs on March 30, 2002, in Arima.