Man killed by cops was Grindr robbery suspect

A 22-YEAR-OLD MAN who was shot dead by police on January 22 after allegedly pointing a gun at police is suspected of being involved in several robberies in which victims were entrapped online through the Grindr dating website.

The dead man was identified as Shakeem Nickie, also known as Fabi.

Police said that at around 2.10 pm on January 22, they responded to a report at Kerr Trace, Eastern Quarry in Laventille. When they arrived at an old concrete two-storey building, they saw a man in a black long-sleeved hoodie and black jeans with a gun in his hand.

They ordered him to drop the gun, but he allegedly pointed it at them, so they shot at him. Nickie tried to escape by jumping over a nearby fence.

The police ran after him and saw him on the ground bleeding from a gunshot wound. He was reportedly still alive at the time and was taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital (PoSGH), but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police said Nickie was known to them as a "priority offender" and a "major suspect" in several Grindr-linked robberies.

Police said they found a black and grey revolver with two rounds of .38 ammunition at the location where Nickie tried to escape from them.

They made further checks in the area and found a man bound and gagged and with injuries to his body and face. He was also taken to the PoSGH.

The man later said he was robbed of his Kia Cerato, which police later found in the Fort Picton area. Investigations are ongoing.