BLOODY END

SHANE SUPERVILLE and RYAN HAMILTON-DAVIS

The year 2019 ended the way it began, with bloody murder, after a series of shootings ended in the deaths of four people on Tuesday afternoon in Port of Spain.

In the first incident, passengers and passersby at the corner of Prince and George Streets, were shot at by gunmen in a Tiida just before 3.50 pm. The men shot at a maxi which was parked at the Blanchisseuse taxi stand, wounding three occupants and six passersby.

The wounded who were inside the maxi taxi were identified as Shaun Mendes, a woman named Lystra Rodriguez and a man named Steve. Police said Rodriguez was later pronounced dead on arrival at Port of Spain General Hospital. Newsday spoke to the maxi driver, who said he heard the gunshots and ducked into the passenger seat to avoid being hit.

“I’m really shaken right now,” he said. “I don’t know what to do or what to say about the whole incident. I just didn’t expect this to come and happen in broad daylight.”

GUNMEN MEET THEIR END

Officers from the Central Police Station and Port of Spain CID, who were going to the scene of the George Street shooting reported seeing another car, a black Tiida, following their marked police vehicle.

An officer later told Newsday that while driving along Duncan Street he heard the gunfire and reported seeing the Tiida carrying the shooters driving behind their (the police) marked vehicle.

Police called on the men to pull over, but they shot at the officers. The police returned fire and the gunmen reversed and escaped in the direction of the Central Market. The police called for backup and other officers at the market saw a car matching the description of the gunmen’s Tiida.

There was another exchange of gunfire and one of the men was wounded. The car crashed into a culvert at the intersection between the Eastern Main Road and the Priority Bus Route near the market. The suspects got out and shot at the police. The police returned fire, killing three of the men with a fourth escaping.

The area was cordoned off while police processed the scene, and traffic was diverted from the PBR to the Eastern Main Road.

The dead men were identified only by their aliases: Bulls, Snake Eyes and Max. In a video circulated on WhatsApp yesterday, a man believed to be one of the gunmen killed, was seen in a car saying he did not care about living any more and was prepared to avenge a friend’s death. He even told relatives to take care of his son. He then cursed Police Commissioner Gary Griffith and said he was ready to die.

Police said three assault rifles were seized from the gunmen in the Tiida. Up until press time the murder toll for 2019 stood at 539, just 11 murders short of the highest cited toll of 550 recorded in 2008.

BOY, 5, SHOT

In an unrelated incident, a five-year-old boy was in hospital after being shot in a drive-by shooting in Rock City, Laventille on Tuesday afternoon. He was identified as Zackary Rodriguez. According to reports, as a car drove along Upper Erica Street, Laventille, one of the occupants leaned out and started shooting at a group of unsuspecting people. Rodriguez was shot in the left leg.

He was taken to Port of Spain General Hospital, where he was treated and is warded. Police are also investigating the murder of a homeless man on Duncan Street in Port of Spain, on Monday night. Police said Alvin Wallace was shot dead as he slept near the Freelancers Pan Tent, at around 8.30 pm.

Residents said they heard the gunshots and called the police. Police from the Duncan Street post found Wallace bleeding on the ground. A district medical officer was called in and declared him dead. Investigators said they do not have a motive for the killing.