A bar brawl between two men early yesterday morning resulted in the death of a 24-year-old Chaguanas woman after she was struck by a stray bullet. Police said Harilah Archibald of Edinburgh Gardens died on arrival at the Chaguanas Health Centre after she was shot in the chest while walking along Railway Road, mere metres away from the Chaguanas Magistrate Court and police station. Reports stated that around 5 am, two men were engaged in heated argument outside Tracker’s Bar which turned into a fight.
One of the men whipped out a gun and fired a shot at his opponent which missed and instead struck Archibald. Both men ran away after the woman was shot. Up to yesterday a party of officers led by Supt Johnny Abraham was pursuing the suspect who has since gone into hiding. Officers of the Central Division Task Force searched the suspect’s house and came up empty-handed, but are confident that an arrest will be made soon.
Archibald’s death follows the murders of Nigel Gordon whose blood-soaked body was discovered on Friday; Waterloo mother Jassodra Baksh who was strangled; and Chaguanas teenager Renaldo Dixon who was stabbed to death while at school last week. The murder toll as of yesterday stood at 155 for the year. Gordon, 28, of Las Lomas was identified yesterday by his relatives.
According to reports, Gordon and his killer were aboard a green band maxi taxi on the Curepe to Chaguanas route when they began to fight. Several passengers who became afraid stopped the maxi taxi and both men got off and continued fighting. Police later responded to a call that a body was seen lying on the pavement of the Cunupia Main Road and on arrival found Gordon’s body in a pool of blood.
Inquiries are continuing.