(Trinidad Express) Neighbours had to break down the front door of an apartment in Maloney Gardens yesterday morning to save the life of a four-year-old boy.
The child had been shot in the head.
Up to last night, he was warded in a serious condition at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope.
Police were told that around 10.30 a.m. the four-year-old was at his home in Building 5, Maloney Gardens, in the company of a seven-year-old relative, when gunshots were heard.
Neighbours immediately responded and broke down the door to the apartment, and found the four-year-old bleeding from a gunshot wound to his head.
An alarm was raised and the injured toddler was rushed to the Arima District Hospital where he was treated.
He was then transferred to Mt Hope.
Police who responded to the incident were told that the children were playing with a firearm which went off.
However, when the officers arrived at the scene, no weapon was found.
As a result, officers of the Maloney Police Station and the Northern Division immediately conducted an exercise in the area searching for the weapon, as well as any other illegal items.
The operation was still ongoing last night.
They leapt into action
Police said the mother of the four-year-old was currently aiding with enquiries.
Speaking with the Express yesterday, 30-year-old Trevon Richardson, one of the men who helped save the boy, explained that while he was saddened about the child being injured, he was happy to see the community coming together to help the child.
“There was no fussing, there was no argument. It was just a ‘what can we do to help’ scenario. Everyone came together, and we all rushed the child to the Arima Health Facility, and even from there, the nurses and the attendants, they all reacted quickly and worked to make sure the boy was alive. We all came together. I’m not here taking any credit. It was all of us, coming together for this child, for this human being. That sense of togetherness and family, that warmed my heart,” Richardson said.
He noted it was just chance that led him to be in the area, as he had come to visit his mother.
“As I was approaching the building I heard a gunshot. When I came around I heard the neighbours talking and it was all frantic. Came to the second floor and they were all trying to find out what happened. We saw a child by the window and he said ‘my brother get shoot’.
“So after we hear that and we realise the door was locked we just leapt into action,” Richardson said.