SRP corporal dies after shooting at Curepe home

A special reserve police corporal was ambushed, shot and killed as he prepared to leave his Curepe home on Saturday night.

Reports say St Joseph CID and North Central Task Force (NCTF) police were called to Woodford Street, at about 8 pm about a shooting in progress.

When they arrived, they saw Charles Kublalsingh, 56, being put into a car to be taken for medical treatment. NCTF officers escorted the car to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope.

But Kublalsingh was pronounced dead at 8.35 pm. He had been shot in the lower left back.

Reports said around 8 pm, Kublalsingh and another family member were outside their house, preparing to go out. The relative was in the front passenger seat of their car and Kublalsingh had just walked around to the back.

The relative saw a man with a gun approaching, raised the alarm and ran off. A gunshot was heard and neighbours saw Kublalsingh lying in the street. A Nissan X-Trail was seen driving away, the report said.

The Special Evidence Recovery Unit processed the crime scene and removed a Glock 45 pistol belonging to Kublalsingh. They also found a spent 12-gauge cartridge.

Police also interviewed family members.

Kublalsingh leaves behind his wife and two sons.

Curtis Belford, a municipal police senior superintendent and president of the International Police Association of TT (IPATT) – of which Kublalsingh was a member – said: “He was a security guard, and had always expressed an interest in becoming a police officer, so some years later, I recommended him to get through with the Special Reserve Police.”

Belford said Kublalsingh was a distinguished member of the IPATT and had won a number of awards.

He was a great, fantastic person…He was dedicated, hard-working and loved the job, policing. He was doing so well, he was promoted to corporal. He served in the TTPS, municipal police service and the Praedial Larceny Squad in the Ministry of Agriculture.”

He added that Kublalsingh was well-known in the area and nothing negative was said about him.