One assailant among two held after encounter in San Juan

Trinidad and Tobago: A shooting took place between police officers and two armed suspects in an unplanned encounter in San Juan. The incident took place while the officers were on a joint operation in the locality on Wednesday, 19 June. The act led to the arrest of one suspect among two, while no casualties were reported in the shooting.

As per the information out about the San Juan encounter case, the officers were on an intelligence led operation in the locality. The involved officers were PC Joseph and PC Taylor, who were part of the exercise conducted from 02:00 pm to 06:00 pm. The operation was set up by the assigned officers in the locality along Laventille Road in San Juan, Trinidad.

The anti-crime operation was executed on the day jointly by the members of the Western Division Task Force with the Western Division Gang and Intelligence Unit. The targeted site was of Harris Hill which was taken under surveillance by securing the positions of the officers all around.

It is mentioned that during the exercise, the two involved officers of the encounter were on alert at Moses Street in San Juan. Both officers were sitting inside a motor vehicle that was not marked by any symbol of law enforcement agencies to avoid attention.

Reportedly, while the officers were in common get up at their position, they were unexpectedly approached by two persons. It is said the two male suspects were armed with lethal weapons, which they pointed towards the officers in the vehicle to threaten them. It is assumed by the locals that the intention of the two suspects was to attempt a robbery while they were unaware of them begin cops.

Straight after observing the aggressive approach of the two suspects, the officers emerged out of the unmarked motor vehicle and introduced themselves as police to the assailants. Anyhow, the suspects allegedly kept their guns and pouted toward the officers, which threatened the lives of the cops. In retaliation to the threatening act of the suspects, officers pulled their licensed service weapons out and fired a shot toward the suspects.

It is said by the police department that in the shooting during the encounter in San Juan, no one was hurt or injured. The shot fired by a police officer caused no casualty. The suspect immediately decided to flee from the site after the shooting, which led to a chase. After a short chase, one of the two suspects was held while the other managed to escape through the forested area. The investigation is active in relation to the incident.