As Port of Spain Division police say they are bracing for an increase in gang violence in the capital city following the deaths of two men on Saturday, businesses say they are living in a constant state of fear.
Police told the Express that the murders in Beetham Estate and Piccadilly Street on Saturday, which claimed the lives of Darren Douglas and Shakiel Reid, were linked.
Reid, 26, was fatally shot around 10.25 a.m. at Beetham Estate.
The vehicle used in the shooting was recovered by officers of the Besson Street Police Station, led by PC Rosado, at Piccadilly Street, minutes after the shooting.
Around 3 p.m. on Saturday Douglas was shot dead while standing near a mini-mart on Piccadilly Street.
Two people who were in the vicinity at the time of the incident were injured by bullets.
One of them was shot in the jaw, while the other was shot to the left side of his neck.
Both men are in critical condition at hospital.
Crime scene investigators recovered 41 spent 5.56mm shells and 11 spent 9mm shells at the scene of the shooting.
And around 8.20 p.m. on Saturday, a series of gunshots was heard along Piccadilly Street.
There were no reports of injuries.
Police told the Express that Douglas’ death was believed to be in retaliation for Reid’s murder.
As a result, police operations and patrols were increased in the Port of Spain district yesterday, and are expected to continue into the week as police try to limit the potential for any retaliatory attacks.
Murderous rampage
Speaking with the Express yesterday, president of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA) Gregory Aboud condemned the murders and called on the police to arrest those responsible.
“We are, like everyone else, living in a state of constant fear and disbelief that this murderous rampage is continuing to haunt our country and to create statistical data that will never be forgotten for decades to come. This is a very dark period in our nation’s history and it didn’t start today. It’s been ongoing for a long time. It has at its root a sense of defiance by criminals that they can commit any crime and get away with it. And they have that feeling as that is their experience. They are not being called to account or answer for their crimes and that injustice is setting the scene for murderous behaviour,” he said in a phone interview. “…It is not just the one incident any more, but now you will have families or friends of victims seeking revenge, as the justice system…they feel like it does not provide them an avenue or works. The best way to combat this is for arrests and persons to be successfully prosecuted,” he said.
He said he believed the young men responsible for various acts of violence in this country come from a place of abandonment and frustration.
“In many cases, it is young persons crying out for attention and recognition in a society that they feel has abandoned them. In many situations, it starts in the homes with persons who did not grow up with father figures. In broken homes. And there is no sense of respect, self-worth, or sense of understanding that their lives are in their own hands. That despite the cards they may have been dealt in life, they can and should do all that is required to bring themselves up. That the reality is there is no one else to blame but themselves. It shows that they need that guidance, and need that self-worth. That no silly words from persons ought to spark them to violence. That no person walking in another community that he is not from is a justification for them to be killed,” Aboud said.
Come together
Aboud called on the Government and Opposition to put their differences aside to get crime under control.
“Oftentimes the national security authorities have said to the public that this is a whole-of-society problem. That everyone has a part of play. But from the Government’s point of view, you only really see the Prime Minister or the National Security Minister playing a part. No one else is taking ownership of the situation and if we are being asked to respond to the rampage with whole-of-society approach then we see no reason we can’t ask to take a whole of Government approach…We ask both sides of the house to go into communities, talk to residents, talk to the police, offer assistance and provide guidance to these young men who have lost their sense of self-worth…Let them know a nation is depending on them instead of shirking away and leaving the entire response to the people,” Aboud said.
Member of Parliament for Port of Spain South Keith Scotland described Saturday’s murders as unacceptable.
He told the Express yesterday: “One life lost is one life too much. I was contacted shortly after the shooting and I just want to offer my condolences to the family and friends of the individual who died, and I also do want to extend good wishes to the other two men who were injured. I do hope they recover. I know the Police Service will be doing all it can to bring the perpetrators to justice. However, in the interim, I just want to say to these young men who are intent on causing disharmony in the area and throughout the country…stop it. You are hurting not just an individual, but their immediate family and circles, and the country as a whole,” Scotland said.
He told the Express he opted yesterday to treat 500 children from his district to movies.
“It was to show these children that they are loved, and that there are other options out there, other things that they can be doing. But if I am also being honest with myself, it was to make a point. There is good in this country, and we cannot let it be overshadowed by evil,” Scotland said.
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