(Trinidad Express) – Police on Wednesday arrested 17 people after raiding several homes in the Factory Road, Covigne Road and Dillon Street, Diego Martin, areas between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. »
Three people at a plastics factory on Factory Road were killed on Tuesday by gunmen who casually walked in and opened fire.
The Express has been reliably informed that the incident was a well-planned execution, as the killers had always been on the lookout for their victims, finally gaining the opportunity to strike that morning.
Those killed during the shooting spree were Kevon St Louis, 24; Khenti Murai, 19; and Zaffer Calder, 15. They were all said to be Muslims and resided in the hills overlooking the Factory Road area.
Clinging to life at the Port of Spain General Hospital are two other young men-Anthony Edwards and Dexter St Louis-who were also shot during the spree. Both are in their 20s.
The Express understands that this gang war, which began as a war over drug turf, had now evolved into a sort of religious war, with Muslims versus non-Muslims.
A source told the Express that Tuesday’s incident was in retaliation for another killing in November last year, when Sherwyn Johnson, 28, of Johnson Lane, Bagatelle, Diego Martin, was shot several times while driving his car just off Factory Road.
Johnson-who belonged to the group of non-Muslims-died several days later at the Port of Spain General Hospital.
The shooting spree occurred at the Sunspot Plastics Ltd factory, owned by Robert Scoon, the husband of Foreign Affairs Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon.
The two killers boldly sauntered through the factory, locating their targets then opening fire on them.
One of the gunmen used a 9 mm, while the other is believed to have used a machine gun, according to witnesses there that morning.
On the scene on Tuesday, Scoon told reporters the five victims were not employees of his, but rather “some fellas in the area” who he normally hired when a shipment came in.
High up in the hills overlooking Factory Road, two “ites, gold and green” flags that were placed next to a shack that had been taken over by gangsters had been removed.
No-one wanted to say much. Among those taken into custody are some high-profile gang leaders, according to the police.