23-year-old man charged for shooting in Tacarigua

23-year-old man booked in the case of shooting attack on a group of people after an argument in Tacarigua on 29 April.

2nd of May 2024

23-year-old man charged for shooting in Tacarigua. Image Credit: The Statesman

Trinidad and Tobago: A 23-year-old accused man was booked by the law enforcement department in the case of a shooting attack on a group of people after an argument in Tacarigua. The incident was recorded at a public place where no one was reported affected due to the shooting on the evening of Monday, 29 April, around 5:00 pm.

As per the sources, the criminal act of shooting was reported from the locality along Thomas Street in Tacarigua, a town of Trinidad in the northern part of the island. It is said that at the location, the accused man was present at the time with a group of people when the incident took place on the day.

At nearly 5:00 pm, the accused man allegedly got involved in an argument with the group of people while they all were together at the site. The argument slowly got heated up and turned into an uncontrollable confrontation. However, the reason behind the initiation of the argument is not clear now.

It is mentioned that as the argument got heated up subsequently, the accused man lost his temper and allegedly got armed with a gun which he was carrying with himself. The suspect pulled out the firearm and launched a shooting attack on the group of people involved in the argument in Tacarigua.

After observing the suspect getting armed with a lethal weapon and launching an open fire at the public place, the group of people scattered and started running to save their lives. Meanwhile, the accused man continued firing random shots against the group with a clear intention to make them victims of his attack.

Reportedly, the shooting attack by the accused man at the crime site of Tacarigua was so random that no casualties were recorded on the day. It is disclosed that all of the involved individuals were able to escape successfully from the shooting attack without any injury. Straight after the lethal attack, the suspect left the site and fled to avoid law enforcement authorities.

Subsequently, the information of the shooting attack in Tacarigua along Thomas Street by the suspect was passed to the law protection department. The police officers on duty took charge in response to the information of criminal activity in the region under their jurisdiction.

The actions were taken by the assigned police officers from the Arouca police station. A team of police officers including Cpl Weekes, PC Lakhan, and PC Ramoutar arrived at the mentioned site while responding to the report. At the site, the police officers on duty conducted inquiries which helped them to know about the suspect.

Straight after, the police officers acted on the information gathered by the people at the crime site and tried to find the suspect of the shooting. Shortly after, the efforts by the police officers led to the arrest of the culprit who was held at a short distance away from the location.

The accused man was taken under custody by the officers on duty while the site of the shooting in Tacarigua was also seized for the initial investigation. In the investigation of the place, the police officers reportedly collected four counts of used shells in olive on the shooting incident. The shells were of 9 mm ammunition.

The accused man of the shooting attack on the group of people is charged with multiple offences committed by him on the day. The charges laid on him include possessing an illegal weapon, possession of ammunition without permission, use of an illegal weapon to endanger lives, use of ammunition to endanger lives, and firing at a public place. The legal process in the case is ongoing under the guidance of PC Scott.