(Trinidad Express) A police officer was one of four people murdered between Saturday night and early yesterday morning.
They were all shot dead during separate incidents in Arima, Tunapuna and San Juan, bringing the country’s murder toll for the year so far to 508. For the corresponding period last year, the figure was 464.
Three of the victims are PC Sheldon Peterson, 54, Kerron Applewhite, 29, and Nicholi Jack, 21. The fourth man remained unidentified up to yesterday evening.
Peterson, who had been on suspension from the Police Service since 2014, was killed around 7.30 p.m., when he attempted to fend off three bandits who came to rob Awesome Food and Drinks Supermarket at Olton Road, Arima, where he was working as a security guard.
CCTV footage of the incident showed Peterson outside the establishment with some other people when a beige-coloured Nissan Almera pulled up close to them. Three men then came out of the car and approached Peterson, while the driver remained in the car.
During their attempt to push Peterson and the others into the supermarket, the officer pulled out his licensed firearm and opened fire.
One of the men ran back into the car while another one ran off in another direction. The third bandit, who was already making his way into the business place, turned around and shot Peterson. He died at the scene.
Police said the shooter then took Peterson’s firearm and ran off. He and another suspect then ran back into the supermarket for a brief period before re-entering their car, which then sped off.
Investigators said two other people received minor injuries to their feet and were taken to hospital for treatment.
One week ago, another suspended police officer, SRP Jerome Bleasdell, was shot and killed. Like Peterson, Bleasdell was working as a security officer at a Chinese grocery in Petit Bourg, when a car drove by, and the occupants opened fire.
Two of the other victims were shot and killed under similar circumstances on Saturday night. They were both liming with friends when they were shot and later died at hospital.
Investigators said, around 9.35 p.m., Kerron Applewhite, 29, of Laventille Road, Febeau Village, was among a group of people outside Container Plaza, Saddle Road.
While there, a white Honda Civic car pulled alongside Applewhite before one of the occupants came out of the vehicle and opened fire on him. Applewhite attempted to run, but the man chased after him and shot him several times.
Applewhite was placed in the tray of a pick-up and taken to hospital. He was pronounced dead around 9.50 p.m., said police. Investigators said they did not have a motive for his murder.
Officers said, a little over an hour after his death, they received information of another shooting, this time at Cleaver Heights, Arima.
Investigators said that around 10.10 p.m., their colleagues responded to the report and, upon their arrival, they were informed by witnesses that the man, Nicholi Jack, of Apartment 4-3, Maloney Gardens, was taken to the Arima Health Facility after being shot several times. He died while undergoing treatment.
Police said Jack was standing in an open yard with a number of other people when a car stopped, two occupants came out and then opened fire on him. The suspects then re-entered the car and drove off.
And in Tunapuna, police said they received an anonymous call around 2.50 a.m., yesterday informing them of a shooting at Achong Trace, off Balthazar Street. Officers said when they arrived at the scene, they found the body of an unidentified man lying along the roadway. He had multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Police reported finding several bullet casings close to his body.
The man was described as being of mixed descent, slim built, light brown in complexion, approximately six feet tall, and appeared to be in his mid-30s. Police said he was wearing a blue and white jacket, black track pants, a pair of red, white and black sneakers, and also had a black and brown book bag on his back.
SLAIN BY BANDIT: PC Sheldon Peterson
