One man was shot dead and three others critically injured after gunmen opened fire on the men while they were seated in a car in Maraval last night.
Investigators told Guardian Media that the shooting happened shortly after 8.30 pm a short distance away from the Maraval Police Station.
Police said that a vehicle with the gunmen pulled up alongside a car parked on top of the hill along Moraldo Street. Gunmen fired several shots at the car, hitting all four occupants inside several times about their bodies. The gunmen then fled the scene in their vehicle.
Guardian Media arrived on the scene approximately half an hour after the shooting as crime scene investigators searched for clues.
Police said the driver of the vehicle, who was yet to be identified, died in the vehicle. Three unidentified Spanish-speaking men who were also wounded inside the vehicle later ran down the hill towards Saddle Road. One of the injured men fell down and lay on the ground for some time, calling out for help before residents rushed to his assistance. A trail of bloodstains was left behind on the pavement as evidence of the attack afterwards.
Within minutes of the shooting several police officers also arrived on the scene and took the injured men to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for treatment.
Police officers immediately locked down the area and stopped and search several motorists near the area following the shooting.
“One of the men was badly injured and he may not make it,” one officer told Guardian Media, noting the toll from the attack may go up to two before the night was out.
Investigators are also hoping to capture further clues by checking the CCTV cameras mounted on an electrical pole along Saddle Road, directly opposite Moraldo Street.
Police believe the shooting may be gang-related.
