Local gospel singer Isaac Blackman is thanking God after surviving a brutal attack on his family at their Piparo home yesterday. Blackman’s sister, Lynette Blackman, said the assault and robbery took place at their home at Jackman Trace, where they grew up as children with their soca legend father, Garfield “Ras Shorty I” Blackman. The house is almost two miles into the forest. Speaking in a telephone interview yesterday Blackman’s other sister, Abbi, said the family was left traumatised after six masked men knocked Blackman unconscious and tied up his sons Zachary, four and Zaniel, two.
Blackman was at home with the two children around midday when the men entered the house. Abbi explained: “Six men came to his Piparo home. They had to come at least two miles into the bush to get there. They came into the house and there were only Isaac and his two children there at the time. “They hit him on this head with a cutlass and knocked him out.
“Before that, they told him he was lucky he was Ras Shorty I’s son or he would have been dead. They also told him he was a superstar so he can buy back everything they took.
“They went through the house, as far as I understand. They took a television, his phone and other things.”
The men then escaped in Blackman’s Land Rover, which Chaguanas police found abandoned in front of Globe City, off the Chase Village overpass. After regaining consciousness, Blackman was able to retrieve his emergency cellphone and contact Lynette, who called the police. Up to late yesterday Princes Town police were processing the crime scene. Blackman’s wife and children went to stay with relatives. As for Blackman’s condition, Lynette said: “Right now he is trying to recover. When I talked to him just now, he said he was traumatised but happy to be alive. “For the children and his wife, it would be traumatising to be tied up by six men in masks. They were home yesterday because the kids were not feeling well, so he did not take them to daycare. “I, for myself, was totally traumatised. When he was giving me the story I was crying. I mean, this was so far for them (bandits) to come and do this.
”It is not even in the city. This is the countryside, where it is supposed to be safe. People want to get away from the city and come to the country where it is safe but look what happened here.”