Shooting on Wrightson Road wounds man in gang-linked midday attack

Two gunmen opened fire on a car on Wrightson Road, Port of Spain around 12.40 pm Tuesday. A bystander was shot in the back; police brace for reprisals.

Cousin shot as gunmen target released detainee on Wrightson Road

Two armed men opened fire on a vehicle travelling east along Wrightson Road in Port of Spain shortly after midday on Tuesday, newsday.co.tt reports. Police have launched a manhunt for the shooters and are bracing for reprisals, describing the incident as gang-related.

The intended target was a man from East Dry River who had been released from custody earlier that day. He had been held over the weekend for questioning in the Western Division and was subsequently charged with gang-related offences.

At around 12.40 pm, the man was travelling in a blue Hyundai Elantra when two gunmen opened fire. The driver — identified by police as his sister — managed to manoeuvre the car clear of the gunfire. No one inside the Elantra was struck and the vehicle itself was undamaged.

Rondell "Papito" Pierre, of Lovell Place, East Dry River, was not so fortunate. Pierre, a cousin of the intended target, was travelling in a Volkswagen Jetta directly behind the Elantra when he was shot in the back. He made his way to the Port of Spain General Hospital, where he was admitted in a serious but stable condition. The gunmen fled in a waiting vehicle.

In the aftermath of the shooting, police cordoned off the eastbound lanes of Wrightson Road between French Street and the Duke Street junction. Eastbound traffic was diverted north along French Street — normally a one-way road running south — while some vehicles were rerouted via Colville Street to Dock Road.

Shortly after the incident, the driver of the Elantra went live on Instagram, visibly distressed. She told her viewers that two masked men had opened fire on them and showed both her own slippers and those of her brother, indicating they had fled the scene with little time to spare. In the video she was heard saying: "I hope allyuh know it f--king on. I hope allyuh know allyuh miss!"

Source: Google News TT — Port of Spain