Three held after shootout in Arima

An Arima man who was injured during a shootout with police on Tuesday, half an hour after he and his friends were allegedly involved in another shooting incident, remained hospitalised under police guard yesterday. The man, aged 25 of Thomasos Terrace, Sherwood Park, was said to be in a stable condition at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope.

Around 5.30 pm on Tuesday, Arima CID officers on patrol at Samaroo Village, Arima, observed a B15 car with four men. As the marked police car approached, the men sped off, prompting the officers to set off in pursuit. During the chase, the occupants and police reportedly engaged in a gun battle. The vehicle carrying the men crashed into a ditch, after which they tried to escape on foot.

Officers were able to arrest three suspects—the injured driver; a 23-year-old of Mendez Drive, Champs Fleurs; and a 26-year-old of Olton Road, Arima. After a search of the car, police found three guns including two semi-automatic pistols and one shotgun, along with four 12-gauge cartridges. The search continued yesterday for the fourth suspect who is yet to be found.

Half an hour before the shootout, Marcus Monix, 21, of Arima was standing along the Priority Bus Route in Arima, when the car with the four suspects pulled alongside him and the occupants began shooting at him. Monix, who was hit in the right hand, escaped further injury after he ran off. He sought medical attention at the Arima Hospital and later made a report at the police station.

Officers on the exercise included Insp Baptiste, PCs Bernard and Ramdial, and WPC Thomas-Hernandez. In a separate incident in Sangre Grande around 6.30 pm on Tuesday, officers led by Sgt Peters, acting on information from an anonymous caller, went to a forested area at Guaico Trace and discovered two 16-gauge shotguns in a bag.