A quiet residential compound in Longdenville, Chaguanas, has been shattered by violence that left two siblings dead on Thursday evening, with the victim’s family insisting 56-year-old Margarita Clarke was an innocent casualty of a targeted attack on her 53-year-old brother, Brian Clarke. The shooting, which unfolded around 8 p.m. at the family’s home on Longdenville Old Road, has sent shockwaves through the close-knit community, where violent crime of this nature is extremely rare.
Six siblings and their immediate families share the multi-apartment compound, with Margarita residing in a ground-floor front apartment alongside her two adult children, aged 20 and 30, and Brian occupying a top-floor front apartment. Speaking publicly to reporters from the *Express* on Friday, the siblings’ 75-year-old elder brother Kenneth Clarke shared the sequence of events that led to the deadly shooting, detailing that Margarita had been socializing with two friends at her home when the masked gunman stormed the property.
“As Margarita was heading inside to grab something for one of her guests, the gunman rushed in and opened fire,” Kenneth recounted. “Even after she raised her hand to surrender, he shot her in the chest before continuing straight upstairs to where my brother was. That was his target all along.” Brian was shot six times in the head, confirming the family’s belief that the attack was premeditated. Kenneth, who was away from the compound when the shooting began, arrived just minutes after hearing the gunfire.
Surveillance footage shared to social media shortly after the incident offers a clear timeline of the attack: a silver Nissan Note pulls up outside the family home just before 8 p.m., and a masked gunman exits the vehicle’s backseat. One initial shot rings out, followed by a woman’s scream, before six more shots are fired. The gunman then flees the property back to the waiting car, which speeds away from the scene immediately. Kenneth noted that the gunman moved directly to Brian’s apartment without hesitation, indicating he had inside information on the layout of the compound and Brian’s location.
Unconfirmed public reports have linked Brian to “bad company,” and his brother Allistair Clarke, who also lives on the compound, confirmed Brian struggled with a gambling addiction and owed money to unknown parties. Still, the family maintains that no debt justifies the brazen attack that claimed an innocent woman’s life. “We are devout Catholic people. Margarita was a good woman, she was never involved in anything like this, this was purely collateral damage,” Allistair said. “Brian was a good guy too, he would have paid what he owed. There was no reason to come here and do this. We need justice for both of them.”
Kenneth echoed that grief and anger, saying the whole community has been upended by the killing. “This never happens on this road. The entire street was blocked off with onlookers after the shooting, because everyone was shocked that something like this could happen here,” he said. “We have lost two family members, now we have to bury two of them. People were calling me all night Thursday saying how unfair it was that an innocent woman was killed. It is double the pain, and I couldn’t even sleep last night.”
Brian, who went by the nickname “Regis,” worked as a truck driver for a local hardware store in Cunupia, and his brother described him as a popular man who got along with nearly everyone he met. “He had all kinds of friends, and I can’t speak to what he got mixed up in – people don’t tell their brothers everything,” Kenneth said. “But the gunman knew exactly where to go, so someone must have tipped him off.”
The shooting has also renewed criticism of Trinidad and Tobago’s ongoing state of emergency, implemented to curb rising violent crime. Kenneth called the emergency measure “not working,” noting that the attack happened just a short distance from a local police post, with police patrol cars passing the compound regularly before the shooting. He issued a direct appeal to Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander to take stronger action to protect law-abiding residents.
“Right now, none of us feel safe. Innocent people are getting killed just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Kenneth said. “We need the government to step up and protect us.”