A 51-year-old man was shot dead while entering a taxi at the San Juan taxi stand on Charlotte Street yesterday afternoon.The victim has been identified as Marlon Hamlyn of Greenvale, La Horquetta.Police said sometime after 2 p.m., Hamlyn entered a taxi to travel to San Juan when a man approached the vehicle and shot him.The taxi-driver immediately drove away from the area with Hamlyn inside the vehicle and, under police escort, transported him to the Port of Spain General Hospital. However, Hamlyn was pronounced dead on arrival.Police have launched an investigation into the killing and are working to determine the motive behind the attack.Investigators are expected to review surveillance footage in the area, and shortly after the shooting had cordoned off the area and were interviewing witnesses.
On the scene: Police officers at the San Juan taxi stand on Charlotte Street, Port of Spain, yesterday after a 51-year-old man was shot dead while entering a taxi. —Photo: CURTIS CHASE
Speaking to the Express following the shooting death of Hamlyn, one man said the incident was “very scary right now”.The man, who was inside a business place in the vicinity of the taxi stand, asked not to be named. He said he was not present at the time of the attack and therefore could not comment on the circumstances surrounding it. However, he said it was ironic that while some people were calling for peace, incidents like this showed that “clearly there is none”.He said the reality was that “every day you have to live your life like it was your last”. A woman who was also at the location said it was the first time since she had been working there that a shooting had occurred. She lamented that people now had to pray every day before leaving home and each time they returned.At a nearby store, a young man said: “They keep saying peace but it is same stupidness going on.”Another woman said while she did not see the shooting, she heard the commotion outside and ran inside and locked up. She said she was told that after shooting Hamlyn, the gunman ran in the direction of City Gate.The woman also used the opportunity to raise concerns about other criminal activity in the area, claiming “fellas [are] snatching chain on the San Juan taxi stand” on a daily basis. Asked whether these incidents happened at a particular time, she said there was no specific time for them to occur.When approached, several taxi-drivers declined to comment. One man said he was not a regular taxi-driver but occasionally worked “PH” (private hire). He described the shooting as unfortunate, especially as some people continued to call for peace.Earlier this month, an attempted peace walk in Port of Spain was blocked. The walk was intended to seek an end to gang violence in East Port of Spain. According to police, the group did not gain permission to conduct the peace walk.The murder toll currently stands at 177 compared to 181 for the same period last year.
