PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD — A gunman on Thursday opened fire on the occupants of a car stuck in traffic along Duke Street during the lunch-time rush hour, killing a passenger and injuring another, the Trinidad Guardian has reported.
According to police reports, Luke Adams, 19, who was seated in the front passenger seat of a blue Mitsubishi Lancer was shot repeatedly around 11.30 am.
Police said CCTV footage showed Adams greeting his intended killer, who was standing at the corner of George and Duke Street shortly after the car left Mango Rose housing scheme, according to the Guardian report.
After the car drove past George Street, the killer ran up to the car and began shooting through the back glass of the car. A man seated in the back seat was shot in the buttocks and Adams was hit several times in the upper body.
Both Adams and the injured back seat passenger, who was not identified by police, were taken to hospital. Adams was pronounced dead on arrival. The driver escaped uninjured.
In an attempt to escape the shooter, the driver crashed into a light pole on the corner of Duke and Charlotte Street. The gunman escaped after he ran into the compound of the George Street buildings, the Guardian reported.
An eyewitness was reported as telling the T&T Guardian she thought at first that someone’s tyre had blown out.
“It all happened so suddenly,” said the woman, who was driving through the area at the time. She described her harrowing experience as too close for comfort, since her vehicle was damaged in the incident.
“I just did not want to think that someone could be so uncaring to take out a gun and shoot on a crowded street.”
She said the victim was in a car that slammed into an electricity pole.
“I saw the young man. He was just gasping for his breath, then he took about two more and died.
“I did not see the gunman. I just know there was about six shots very close to me. It was so loud people were just screaming.”
The shooting took place near the Maraval taxi stand and many onlookers questioned if anywhere else was safe in the country, the Guardian said.
Police said Adams was not known to be involved in criminal activity and they had no motive for the killing.
The midday killing in the city was reminiscent of similar incident two years ago.
On December 23, 2016, Sean Thomas, 33, of Francis Road, San Juan, was shot as he was stuck in traffic along Queen Street, Port-of-Spain. Two police vehicles on patrol, were stuck in traffic, behind and in front of Thomas’ vehicle. In that case, the shooter also escaped.
