Senior Reporter
Twelve hours after a triple murder in Laventille sent shockwaves across the country, gunfire erupted in Siparia on Saturday night, leaving two men dead and residents fearful.
The bodies of Kwame Parris, 29, alias “Six,” of Coconut Alley, Siparia and Teshawn Baptiste, 25, also known as “Blackboy,” of Lowkie Trace, Penal, were discovered in Sennon Village after residents reported hearing loud explosions around 9 pm. The pair were liming by a house when the gunshots rang out. Both men ran, but Parris did not get far. He was found lying face down near the bathroom area of the house, bleeding from gunshot wounds. Baptiste was chased as he ran through the community, but eventually collapsed near a drain along Railway Road.
Police recovered more than 25 spent 9mm and 5.56mm casings, along with several rounds of ammunition, from the scene.
The latest killings have brought renewed concern over escalating violence in Siparia, which falls within Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s constituency.
In the past seven weeks, at least eight people have been murdered in the constituency, including six in the Siparia district. The double murder over the weekend has pushed the murder toll to ten.
When Guardian Media visited Sennon Village yesterday, residents lamented that their once quiet community had become a frightening place to live.
Complaining that crime had increased in the community over the past two years, he said, “The police really need to be more effective. I think the problem with the police; they don’t have the tools to investigate properly.”
One woman recalled that when the gunshots rang out, her two grandchildren dropped to the ground. She said they were left so traumatised that she sent them to stay with their mother.
“It not nice. We village used to be a quiet village and these criminal elements moving into our village,” she complained.
Another resident believes the murders were gang-related.
“I’m telling them they’re literally targeting people, you know, so I really don’t want to be in any mix-up. It’s frightening,” he said.
He said his children were at home when the murders occurred.
“All they could do is lie down on the ground,” he said.
Boasting that Siparia has a wealth of talent and cultural resources, Akinola Sennon, executive director of the Siparia Deltones Institute and Steelband arranger, said gun violence infiltrating the community is sad, but believes those responsible represent a minority.
“I think we need to bind together as a community; we need to pray a lot so that, you know, it doesn’t become a cultural norm.”
Encouraging young people to develop self-awareness and find purpose, he called for stronger mentorship programmes, saying the informal guidance that existed in previous generations no longer exists.
Meanwhile, Siparia Mayor Doodnath Mayrhoo expressed concern over the recent increase in murders in Siparia and appealed to those involved in criminal activity to turn to God.
“You want a community to be peaceful, you want people to go about their business in comfort, not walking around in fear that something may happen to anybody at any time, any member of their family themselves. So, I’m calling on those persons who are responsible for committing these crimes to rethink their position.”
Mayrhoo said he is disappointed that Siparia has become a crime hotspot in recent weeks and will be seeking a meeting with senior police officers in the South Western Division to discuss the situation.
Meanwhile, two Opposition members reiterated that the State of Emergency (SoE) has proven ineffective as mass shootings and murders continue.
Opposition MP and former minister of national security Marvin Gonzales said there has been no new information from the TTPS and the Minister of Homeland Security and Minister of Defence, while citizens are left to fend for themselves.
“The SoE is now being weaponised against the law-abiding by a Government that is more focused on settling political scores with its opponents. The Prime Minister is quiet and pretends as though we don’t have a crisis. The current state of play is that the Government has surrendered in the fight against crime and now uses the emergency powers against those they perceive to be their political opponents.”
Similarly, Port-of-Spain North/ St Ann’s West MP Stuart Young said that the broad daylight triple murder at a gas station in Laventille shows that criminals are not deterred by the SoE.
He said the country still does not know the Government’s crime plan. “Like every law-abiding citizen, I am beyond concerned about the state of Trinidad and Tobago including crime, the economy, the lack of transparency, the destruction of our energy sector and the intentional and targeted political persecution that is taking place,” he said.
Meanwhile, regional security expert Garvin Heerah said the police service needs to focus immediate attention on intelligence-led policing.
He said a comprehensive intelligence deep dive within the nation’s prison system is equally important as there is growing evidence regionally and internationally that incarcerated gang leaders continue to orchestrate murders and other serious crimes from behind prison walls.
Calling for an “all hands on deck” approach, he said, “The fight against homicide also requires stronger integration between intelligence gathering, investigations, forensic science, digital evidence recovery and prosecutorial support.
Adding that no single agency can solve the homicide problem in isolation, he advised, “Law enforcement, the Prison Service, the Strategic Services Agency, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, forensic specialists, community leaders, and social intervention agencies, even the faith-based organisations, must operate within a coordinated national framework. Intelligence sharing, joint operations and unified command structures will be critical to achieving sustained reductions in violent crime.”
Guardian Media reached out to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander for a comment but did not get a response until the time of publication.
