Yesterday morning’s killing of three people in Belmont – including a 23-month-old baby boy who was being taken to daycare by his father and mother – shocked and sickened many people in this country, who unfortunately have grown accustomed to the almost daily reports of murders.
It is notable that the shooting deaths of the three, including the boy’s father and a family friend and the injury of the baby’s mother, who remains hospitalised in critical condition, took place in broad daylight, just off the normally busy St Francois Valley Road and in midst of the current administration’s third State of Emergency (SoE), implemented partly to curb homicides, gang activity and other violent crimes.
The Belmont murders follow Wednesday morning’s execution of a 27-year-old Beetham Gardens mother and serious injury of her partner in Princes Town; the slaughter of four people, including nine-year-old J’layna Armstrong, who were travelling in a car along the Lady Young in Morvant in April; and multiple home invasions.
The fact that citizens, especially innocent children, are being killed by bullets in broad daylight during an SoE must indicate to the national security authorities that they have lost control of the violent crime situation.
Murderers are brazenly traversing this country, often armed with high-powered guns, with impunity, safe in the knowledge that they are likely to avoid being apprehended by police, who often arrive at the scene after the killers have absconded. In that regard, last weekend’s home invasion in Cunupia, which involved eight criminals, four of whom were killed by police, is a welcomed anomaly.
Oftentimes, the response of the police high command and Government is to point to the fact that, in numerical terms, there have been fewer murders this year than for the same period last year. For the period January 1 to May 7, 2026, police say 130 people were murdered, compared to 135 for the same period in 2025. That difference of 3.70 per cent is statistically irrelevant.
More troubling for the public is the fact that ten people have been murdered during the first seven days of May.
Whatever the numbers, it is clear that the mood of the country does not match the statistics. And the country is quickly turning to despair and hopelessness at the inability of the security authorities to staunch the spate of murders.
The mood is also increasingly one of terror, as people are being gunned down in public spaces by the killers, who have no qualms about executing a 23-month-old boy or a nine-year-old girl. Given the real possibility of collateral damage, this feeling of terror is likely to result in some people being scared to leave their homes or neighbourhoods.
The fear of crime, therefore, may well increase absenteeism at work, which, along with employers having to spend more money securing their businesses and workers, is likely to have consequences for the retail sector in T&T, which employs thousands.
What is the solution to the uncontrolled murders in this country?
Certainly, the police need to increase their presence and visibility in areas that security intelligence has identified as hot spots, with roadblocks utilised along the country’s major and minor thoroughfares.
Government also needs to reintroduce more police/army patrols and ensure they continue until there is an appreciable decrease in violent crimes.
The authorities must also make better use of technology, including CCTV, facial recognition, surveillance equipment, alongside the rollout of an Artificial Intelligence plan that can detect patterns of criminality quickly, making the disruption of murderous intentions possible.
