A mother of two from Wallerfield, whose family was robbed of their two vehicles during an early morning home invasion yesterday, is disappointed that police only managed to kill one of their attackers during a shoot-out shortly after the incident.
She made the statement to the T&T Guardian hours after the ordeal, as the family was washing the vehicles which had been returned to them by police hours earlier.
The woman, who spoke under the condition her name and photograph would not be published for fear of reprisal, said: “I know this may not sound nice, but I was really hoping to get a call saying that they (the police) killed all three of them.”
The woman said the gunmen entered her property around 5.40 am as her 13-year-old daughter was outside putting her school bag in their car to be dropped to school.
Trembling as she recounted details of the incident, the woman said as she opened the front door upon hearing her daughter’s screams she was greeted with a gun in her face.
She said the men forced them inside and proceeded to tie them up alongside her 14-year-old son, her bother and another male relative.
“They put everyone to lie down on the floor. They tied me up on a chair because I told them I am sick,” she said.
The woman said the men then ransacked the house, taking jewellery, money, electronics and a quantity of alcohol she had purchased the previous evening.
“They were very disrespectful. One of them opened the fridge and drank some juice straight out of the carton, like if he living here. Another tried on my brother’s shoes and left with it on his foot,” she said as she shook her head repeatedly in disbelief.
She said after the men searched the house they took the keys to her Mazda pick-up and her brother’s Toyota Corolla and drove off.
“As soon as I was able to free myself I ran to the road and stopped a driver. The good man could not get through to the police on the phone, so he allowed me to go inside for a slipper and he drove me to the station,” she said.
She said once she made the report to PC Haven and WPC Paponette at the Arima Police Station, the police were quick and efficient in their response.
“I had bad experiences with them before but this time I could say that they did a good job and were on the ball,” she said.
According to police reports, within minutes of receiving the report from the victim, the stolen vehicles were seen heading through Carapo.
Officers from the Northern Division Task Force responded and later attempted to intercept the vehicles, causing the bandits to crash the stolen vehicles into each other. The gunmen then got out and began shooting at police, who returned fire.
One of the gunmen was shot and killed, while his accomplices managed to run away. Police recovered an illegal firearm on the scene. The deceased bandit was later identified as Keon Valdez, of KP Lands, Valencia. Investigators said Valdez was well know to police and had been recently charged with several home invasions in east Trinidad.
Police launched a manhunt for the two other suspects, but they had not been arrested up to late yesterday.
The woman said while her family was coping with the trauma of the incident, she believed it would take time for them to recover.
“I’m good now but I am sure I would not be able to sleep tonight,” she said, as she lamented that her son was also forced to miss an examination scheduled for yesterday due to the incident.
Asked if she could give advice to citizens on how to protect themselves against intruders, the woman suggested that they be alert and vigilant.
“Our situation could have been worse because they had two guns. The guns were not fake as clearly they worked when they shot at the police,” she said.
The woman said she does not think her family was specifically targeted, noting they were the latest victims in a string of home invasions in the community.
“Recently they robbed a taxi higher up the road and the driver came to our house for help. Based on his description, I believe that it was also the guys who robbed us,” she said.
Investigations are continuing.
