(Trinidad Guardian) Che Mendez, a driver employed with Massy Distribution, was reportedly delivering cigarettes around 12.35 pm when he was shot in the head during what the police claimed was an attempted robbery.
It was unclear if anything was stolen. Mendez died at the scene, while the security guard who accompanied him on the delivery was shot in the face. The injured man was taken for medical care and has been hospitalised. Police did not disclose if the guard had been armed or if he was able to return fire during the incident.
Investigators received information that five heavily armed men were seen leaving the area minutes after the shooting in a blue truck, which was later found abandoned nearby.
Guardian Media was told that blood was found in the vehicle, but officers were unable to say if any of the suspects had been injured during the robbery attempt or if they had shot themselves in the melee.
Mendez and the guard were said to have been regulars in the area and were accustomed to delivering goods to businesses along St Ann’s Main Road, as well as those smaller shops tucked away on the side streets.
While residents of Fondes Amandes declined to speak, at least one man living along River Road described Mendez as a “humble, quiet man.”
Standing in the drizzle as they waited for the police to reopen the road, several people expressed shock and dismay over the killing. A relative of Mendez arrived in tears close to an hour after the killing and had to be consoled by officers as well as officials from the Massy Group who were at the scene.
In a statement, Massy Distribution said, “We regret to confirm that an employee of Massy Distribution was fatally wounded in a robbery which occurred early this afternoon. A security guard who accompanied our employee on his sales route was also wounded and has been hospitalised. Massy Distribution is unable to provide further details at this time as the matter is the subject of an active police investigation.”