Security officer accused of murder in Tacarigua

Trinidad and Tobago: A 49-year-old man scheduled for an appearance in the high court after being laid with charges of murder in Tacarigua on Tuesday, 07 May. The accused is a security officer by profession who shot a man at a gas station in the locality.

The incident of murder by shooting dates to Thursday, 25 April in Tacarigua, a two of Trinidad situated in the northern part of the island. The deceased is identified in the reports as a 26-year-old man who is named Jamal Thomas as per documents. Jamal Thomas was a local resident of Tacarigua.

Meanwhile, the Tacarigua murder accused security officer is known by his given name Shortman commonly whose documented name is Roger Philip. Roger Phillip belongs to Caura, which is a locality in the northern part of Trinidad Island.

As per the reports, on the day when the act of murder took place the accused officer was on duty at the gas station along the eastern main road in Tacarigua. While the officer was present at Peake One Stop gas station, he spotted Jamal Thomas who was allegedly troubling the customers.

After observing the seriousness of the situation, the officer took action and approached Jamal. Officer Phillip asked Jamal to leave the place without causing any issues, but he refused to follow the instructions. Instead, Jamal allegedly threatened the on-duty security officer for his life.

Straight after, Jamal walked a short distance away and found a broken glass bottle with which he armed himself. With the broken glass bottle, Jamal advanced in the direction of the officer to attack him in response to which Phillip retaliated.

Reportedly, the security officer got threatened for his life with that aggressive move by Jamal and he got himself armed with his licensed service pistol. The officer pointed the gun toward the assailant and fired a shot which hit Jamal. Jamal instantly escaped from the place to save his life in an injured condition.

Subsequently, the security officer alerted the police department about the incident of shooting which injured a man at the gas station. The police officers from the North Central Task Force, Area East, and the Crime Investigation Department of Arouca took charge and responded to the situation.

Immediately, the search for the injured man was initiated which led the officers to Dinsley Junction Nursing where injured Jamal was admitted for the treatment of his wound from gunshot to his abdomen. The injured man was transferred to Mt Hope Hospital where he was warded in a critical condition for treatment.

However, the man was not able to survive and lost his life the next day on Friday, 26 April. Eventually, the security officer was taken into custody for the investigation and later laid with charges of murder in Tacarigua. The investigation was supervised by ASP Victor, Inspector Ramjag, and woman Inspector Ag Simon.