PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – At least three people, including a 17-year-old schoolboy, were killed as Trinidad and Tobago celebrated the annual Carnival celebrations with street parades on Monday.
Police said that the teen, Reshan Singh, was stabbed during an altercation during the J’Ouvert celebrations in Chaguanas, south of here. They said three people have since been detained and are assisting in the investigations.
Singh of Perseverance Road, Carapichaima, was on his way home after celebrations at a friend’s house at around 10 pm when he was confronted by three men along the Southern Main Road near Mid Centre Mall.
An altercation ensued and one of the men stabbed Singh to death before escaping.
Singh’s body was discovered by passers by who alerted the police and took him to the Chaguanas District Health Facility where he succumbed to his wounds and died.
Police said they also ended the J’Ouvert celebrations in the southern town of San Fernando a few hours early, after an unidentified man was stabbed to death and another injured.
The authorities said the man was involved in an altercation with a group of men and they began fighting. He was stabbed in the chest and abdomen. He was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Police also reported that 21-year-old, Keon Jack, who was liming with friends, was shot and is in a critical condition at the SFGH.
In the other incident, police said a 77-year-old man from Florida died “when he got caught under the wheels of a music truck in the vicinity of Victoria Square” in the capital. The police did not disclose the name of the visitor.
They said also a 30-year-old unidentified woman is warded at the Port of Spain General Hospital after falling off a music truck in the capital.
The police said they were reminding operators of the music trucks of the measures for granting licences, noting “the operators of these vehicles must ensure there is no risk to public safety when engaging or driving their vehicles”.
Trinidad and Tobago security officials are on high alert after eight men have been detained amid reports of a terrorist plot to disrupt the Carnival celebrations that end here on Tuesday with the traditional street jump-up.
“In anti-crime exercises carried out through the country several persons were arrested for possession of narcotics, possession of weapons, resisting arrest and disorderly behaviour as police enforced a zero tolerance on any infraction of the law,” the TTPS said in a statement.
Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams told a news conference on Sunday that investigations were continuing into the alleged plot but urged residents and visitors alike to be vigilant as they participate in the celebrations.
“We have done all that we can do at this point in time to avert any threat to the Carnival celebrations,” he said, adding “persons can feel assured that Carnival 2018 you will have all the necessary safety and security support of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
Williams would not be engaged in discussing whether or not those detained have been linked to terrorist groups such as ISIS in Syria.
The US Department of State’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 has named Trinidad and Tobago the country with the highest per capita rate of ISIS recruitment in the Western Hemisphere.
According to the report, more than 70 nationals are believed to be fighting with ISIS in Syria. – CMC
