2 dead, 3 wounded in police-involved shooting at Courts

Two people are dead and three others injured after a shooting at around 1.30 pm on Sunday at Courts Megastore on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, Barataria.

The deceased have been named as Simeon Lessey, 35, and his sister Sinaaya Lessey, 33.

Simeon’s common-law wife, a family friend, and another unnamed person were also injured during the shooting and were taken to hospital.

The siblings’ mother Abigail John told Newsday the group went to meet someone who had promised them items at a reduced price.

She said the siblings had already paid for the items but found the transaction suspicious and wanted to cancel it.

John said her daughter reported the initial transaction to the police and planned to meet with the person at Courts Megastore’s carpark to get the money back.

Snr Supt Melvin Edwards, head of the Northeastern Division confirmed that an off-duty officer was involved in the shooting.

He said initial investigations revealed the officer fired his licensed gun, after which Simeon and Sinaaya Lessey were shot and killed and three others wounded.

Edwards said the loss of life in any circumstance was always tragic and  offered condolences to the family.

He said acting Asst Supt Hernandez had been assigned to investigate the shooting.

Edwards added the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) and the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) were also doing their own investigations.

Edwards said the police investigation was at an early stage but would reveal what  had happened. He said the general public would be updated as the investigation progressed.

While speaking with the media, the family dismissed online rumours that the siblings were shot while trying to rob someone.

John, who was visibly distraught, said she was painting her house when she was given the news that her children had been killed.

Speaking to the media with her hands and clothes still covered in paint, she said she believed justice would be served for their deaths.

“God will give me justice. You see my two children who I have to go and put down in a hole? I swear I wouldn’t done with them.”

A bystander added, “Revenge will come, and when it comes they will say people are wicked, but they don’t know who was doing the wickedness first. It will come home by them eventually.”

A release from Courts’ parent company Unicomer (Trinidad) Ltd said it was “saddened by the incident.”

Unicomer also tried to dissuade the public from using its carparks as a meeting point for financial transactions.

It added, “Unicomer (Trinidad) Ltd takes security and safety as a high priority for our staff and our customers. We would like to reiterate that our car park serves as a space for our customers to park their vehicles, while visiting our stores. They should not be used for any private financial/ business transactions.”

The warning comes amid a trend of robberies linked to Facebook Marketplace transactions.

ACP Winston Maharaj, at a press briefing in Port of Spain last Thursday, urged the public to use common sense when making transactions.

"There are several police stations that provide that level of service to supervise legitimate transactions so people are not scammed.”

Unicomer also recently posted on its social media pages warning the public against buying items from third-party sellers.

It said, “All genuine financial transactions occur in-store, with purchased items provided right away or scheduled for delivery at your request. If you encounter individuals who may attempt to sell products to you in our parking lots, please inform our branch manager immediately.”

Unicomer described Sunday’s incident as “isolated in nature,” but said it would be taken seriously by the security team.

It added, “All efforts would be made to ensure that the shopping experience for all during the festive season remains as safe as possible.”