In a brazen attack that has shocked the local community, 30-year-old Defence Force soldier Jaelani Garcia Williams was fatally shot during an ambush outside a Chaguanas mini-mart on Saturday evening. The incident occurred approximately at 9:30 p.m. along La Clave Street in the Edinburgh 500 area as Williams was returning to his black SUV after visiting the establishment.
According to police reports, another vehicle traveling southbound abruptly stopped adjacent to Williams’ position. An armed assailant emerged from the right rear passenger side of the vehicle and discharged multiple rounds at the soldier before swiftly re-entering the getaway car, which immediately fled the scene. Despite being armed with his service weapon, Williams sustained fatal injuries and collapsed on the roadway.
Central Division Task Force officers, alerted through the E999 Command Center approximately twenty minutes after the shooting, discovered Williams lying face down without vital signs upon their 10 p.m. arrival. Crime scene investigators subsequently recovered significant evidence including the victim’s pistol with a magazine containing 17 rounds of 9mm ammunition, alongside 16 spent 9mm shell casings, five .40 caliber casings, one projectile, and a black fisher’s hat.
The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force has issued an official statement extending profound condolences to Williams’ family, friends, and colleagues, emphasizing that the loss deeply affects the entire national security community. The military organization has pledged full cooperation with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, which maintains primary investigative jurisdiction over the case. WPC Knights is leading the ongoing investigation amid a palpable atmosphere of tension and reluctance among local residents to discuss the incident publicly.