A 24-year-old man suspected of shooting a police sergeant in the face early yesterday morning was shot in a second incident hours later. The man, of Eastern Quarry, Laventille, remained warded in a critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital up to late yesterday. He was shot four times in the head during a shootout with the police in Beetham Gardens.
According to police reports, around 2 am Sgt Knott and PC Hernandez of the Port-of-Spain Division Task Force were on patrol in Beetham Gardens when they saw a man standing at the side of the road. Investigators said the man drew a gun and shot at the officers. Knott, who was in the front seat, was shot once in the face. Police said the bullet entered one side of his face and exited the other. The gunman ran away.
Hernandez drove off and took his colleague to hospital. Knott was treated and was warded in a stable condition. Investigators said almost two hours later, members of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) spotted the suspect while they were patrolling Dan Kelly, Laventille. They attempted to arrest him but claimed he immediately began shooting at them. They returned fire, hitting him four times in his head.
Investigators said a loaded 9 mm pistol was found on the scene. The weapon was taken to the Forensic Science Centre in St James where ballistic testing would be done to determine if it matched the one that was fired at Knott. Insp Sahadeo Singh and Cpl Sirju of the Besson Street CID visited the scene and are investigating both incidents.