Less than two weeks after three people were wounded in a shooting at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, a 16-year-old Belmont boy appeared in court on charges arising out of the incident. He appeared before Magistrate Melvin Daniel in the Port-of-Spain Fourth (B) Court yesterday afternoon. After Daniel read the charges, the teenager’s attorney, Ian Brooks, asked the court to consider bail. Court prosecutor Sgt Stanley Joseph said a criminal tracing had not been done and suggested Daniel adjourn the matter to this morning when the tracing will be available.
Daniel agreed and remanded the teenager to the Youth Training Centre (YTC), Arouca. The teenager, from Harper Lane, Belmont, was slapped with three charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The charges were laid by PC Pierre of the Port-of-Spain CID. He also was charged with possession of a gun and ammunition with intent to endanger life as well as two charges for possession of the weapon and ammunition. The victims—Chavez Toppin, 20; Alexandra Badal, 29, a sanitation worker at the hospital, from Barataria; and 28-year-old nursing student Sileen Vialva, of Siparia—are recovering from their injuries.
Toppin, who was shot twice in the abdomen, and Vialva, who was shot in the calf, were discharged from hospital a few days after the shooting. Badal was shot in the face and remained warded in hospital up to late yesterday. Her injury has been deemed not life-threatening. According to reports, around midday on June 13, the victims, who are not connected, were standing near the car park/vending area of the hospital when a gunman began shooting at Toppin. Stray bullets wounded the women.