The killing of three men at a Laventille gas station yesterday morning shattered months of relative peace in one of the country’s long-troubled crime hotspots.The men were gunned down at the gas station when heavily armed men stormed the compound and opened fire in what police described as a targeted attack.The triple murder occurred shortly after 9 o’clock at the Unipet gas station at the corner of the Eastern Main Road and Morvant Old Road, Laventille, pushing the country’s murder toll to 209.
Police identified the victims as Selvon Jack, 56, of Lot 60 Chinapoo, Morvant; Makal Campbell, 29, of 13 Poui Street, Morvant; and Malique Akhil Williams, 23, of Erica Street, Laventille.
The Sunday Express understands one of the victims was pumping gas into his vehicle when gunmen entered the compound and opened fire. A second victim was inside another vehicle at another pump, while the third was walking on the compound when he was shot.The attackers fled the scene in a white Nissan Tiida.In a telephone interview with the Sunday Express yesterday, head of the Port of Spain Division Senior Superintendent Raymond Thom expressed disappointment that the killings occurred despite what had been a relatively calm period in Laventille.“Port of Spain has been quiet. We are disappointed that during this peace accord that is supposed to exist, that this can happen. Some people are not holding to the order that was established, but we are doing what we have to do to maintain law and order,” Thom said.Thom said several specialised units were on the scene. “Police received information of a loud explosion around 9.15 (a.m.). Officers from different agencies responded, including the Port of Spain Division, the Inter-Agency Task Force, the Guard and Emergency Branch, and the North Eastern Division.“On arrival they observed the bodies of three persons lying on the compound of the gas station. Two of the persons were residents of Morvant, and one was from Laventille.” He said investigators were still trying to determine whether one of the men was an intended target. “It appears that someone not involved who was just fuelling their vehicle might have been a casualty. That possibility does exist,” Thom said.Thom said investigators had already located a vehicle believed to be of interest to the investigation. He also appealed to citizens to assist police by rejecting criminal activity.“Police would like persons to be law-abiding. We want criminality to stop. Port of Spain hasn’t had a murder in over a month. We have been relatively quiet in Port of Spain, but this incident came and we will be moving with great haste to treat it to ensure there is no follow-up activity, reprisals, and so on,” he said.Referring to the ongoing state of emergency, Thom said police continued to use emergency powers to target known criminals. “We are under a state of emergency, but there are not many restrictions. There is no curfew and no restriction of movement and gathering, so people are basically free to move around as normal.“Police have been using the state of emergency to try to deal with the criminal elements. Several of them are incarcerated at this time under preventive detention orders. Port of Spain has executed over 90 of the orders, so we know most of our major players are incarcerated at this time.“However, there are still elements that we are looking for and there are still persons involved in criminality and carrying out gang activities and reprisals,” Thom said.He said detectives from several units were now working together to identify those responsible.“With respect to this incident, the North Eastern Division, Port of Spain Division, Homicide, and other intelligence units will be collaborating to identify the motive and bring the suspects before the court as soon as possible,” he said.
