Police say they will be increasing their patrols along the Lady Chancellor Hill, St Clair, after a woman was shot while walking along the popular training spot.
According to police reports, the woman, who will not be identified because she is currently in a home for battered women, was walking down the hill around 10.30 am yesterday when she was attacked.
The woman told police she noticed a man bending over as if he was tying his shoe laces as she was walking along the road. But when she got close to the man, he grabbed her by her shoulder and shot her once in the leg. The man then jumped into a white Nissan Tiida and drove off.
Police said the woman could not identify her attacker, but told them she believed that it may be linked to her being at the home. Following the shooting, the woman was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where she is currently warded in a stable condition.
PC Hinds of the St Clair Police Station is continuing investigations
Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, public information officer of the T&T Police Service, ASP Michael Pierre, said the police would increase patrols at the popular training spot. However, he denied the increased police presence was due to the fact that wealthy persons lived and also exercised in the area.
Cricket legend Brian Lara and business mogul Arthur Lok Jack live in the community.
“When things like this happen patrols are usually heightened in the area. There are a number of people who jog and exercise along the roadway, so there is that need to assure them that the police have things under control,” Pierre said.
Meanwhile, police are also investigating the murder of Jason “Point” Williams Jr, who was shot in his car a mere 100 metres from his Augustine Lane, Belmont home on Thursday night.
According to police reports, Williams was ambushed by a gunman while driving his Nissan Wingroad along Belle Eau Road around 7.45 pm. Williams, a garbage truck driver and part time PH taxi driver, was on his last trip for the night when he was killed.
Police said a woman and her child were in the back seat while another woman was in the front seat when the gunman opened fire. The car was found crashed into a wall with Williams slumped over onto the front passenger seat. The gunman calmly walked away after the attack.
Speaking with the media at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday, Williams’ sister-in-law, Joy Phillip, described him as an easy-going man who usually didn’t go into the Belle Eau Road area. She said Williams was the father of two boys, seven and 13.
Grace Phillip, Williams’ wife, said the 38-year-old had just moved back into the family home two months ago and was focused on caring for his family.
Phillip questioned why Williams was killed, as he was not in any gang or affiliated with any gang and had moved out of the area initially to remove himself from a war between two rival gangs in the community who sought to claim him as one of their “soldiers.”
“He was about his family and providing for his family so he had a good reason not to get involved,” Phillip said.
In an unrelated incident, police said 27-year-old Hassani Wharwood was killed during a drug deal that went sour on Thursday. According to police reports, Wharwood, of Sixth Avenue, Malick, Barataria, was in a Toyota Yaris with Nathaniel Guerra along Pundit Street, El Socorro, San Juan, when a gunman approached and shot the duo. Wharwood, a labourer with the San Juan Regional Corporation, died at the scene while Guerra was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Complex, Mt Hope, where he is currently warded in a stable condition.
The killings have taken the murder toll to 119 for the year. The toll was 143 for the same period last year.