Police brought Carnival celebrations to a premature halt in San Fernando because of a number of violent incidents during las lap on Tuesday night. Around 10.30 pm Senior Supt Cecil Santana of the Southern Division Police gave instructions to stop the music, 15 minutes after a teenager was attacked and badly injured. Before this incident, bomb experts and sniffer dogs were brought in to search Belgrove's Funeral Home, opposite the Junior Sammy Skiffle panyard on Coffee Street, after an employee received a call that a bomb had been planted in the building.
Police cleared the area of masqueraders and revellers, as well as judges at the nearby judging point and searched the building. It was a hoax.A report said around 10.15 pm approximately 20 people attacked Shekiel Allen, 18, with broken bottles and knives as he jumped in a Carnival band on Rushworth and Freeling streets. Alleyne, of Carlton Lane, San Fernando, was beaten and cut on the arms, chin, forehead and lower back. He was admitted to San Fernando General Hospital where he remained warded late on Wednesday.
In another incident, several revellers suffered minor injuries when bottles and other missiles were thrown into the crowd near Scotiabank on Cipero Street by a group of men. Police said they recognised some of the men as part of a gang operating in Embacadere.
Meanwhile, the body of a man found on Carnival Monday by church hikers at the Carmelita Waterfall, Corosal Road, Gran Couva, has been identified. Relatives yesterday identified the body as that of PH taxi-driver Shazard Ali Kassim, 31, of John Dulan Street, Aranguez.His gold Nissan B13 car was not found up to late on Wednesday.A post-mortem on the body showed he died from a single gunshot to the right side of the head.Relatives said he was last seen alive on Sunday evening. Police believe robbery was the motive for the killing as several pieces of jewelry he had been wearing were missing.Investigations are continuing.
