3 killed in police-involved shooting in Central Division

A woman was among three robbery suspects killed in an alleged shootout with police in the Central Division on the night of January 29.

Up to January 30, the woman and two men were yet to be identified.

The police also seized two guns.

The shooting took place around 10.30 pm on January 29 at Perseverance Road in Chaguanas.

The operation was part of the police's strategic plan under the Emergency Powers Regulations 2024.

Officers from the Couva CID, CDTF (Area South), and Couva charge room were on an anti-crime operation when they spotted a gold Nissan Tiida car, which had reportedly been involved in a robbery with violence at 1 am on January 29 at Ojar Avenue in Chandernagore.

The officers stopped the car, got out of their marked police van, and cautiously approached the car.

Before they had a chance to speak to the driver, the occupants reportedly opened fire, prompting the police to shoot back.

The car then drove off.

The officers called for backup and chased the car, but lost sight of it.

On further investigation, they saw a man with a gunshot wound walking out of an overgrown area, carrying a gun. They told him to stop and drop the weapon.

However, the man aimed the gun at the police, who then shot at him, hitting him and making him drop the gun.

On searching further, the police found a woman and another man with gunshot wounds. All three were taken to the Chaguanas health facility, where they were declared dead.

The police later found the getaway car crashed in an overgrown area. Another gun was recovered from it.

Fatal police-involved shootings for 2025

The three suspects are the latest civilians to be killed by police in the past two weeks.

On January 21, three suspected robbers were killed in an alleged shootout with Central Division police in Cunupia.

The next day, in an unrelated incident, police shot dead Shakeem "Fabi" Nickie, 22, at Eastern Quarry, Laventille, after they reportedly caught him red-handed assaulting a man with a cutlass.

On January 23, a man was killed in a shootout with Central Division police in Claxton Bay. Police found a gun.

On January 25, around 6 am, Ronnie Alexander, 40, of Laventille, was killed in an alleged shootout with police at his family's home in Tabaquite.