PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – One week after a brazen fatal assault on the San Fernando City Corporation Municipal Police station left one on-duty officer dead and a cache of weapons and ammunition stolen, Trinidad and Tobago’s top law enforcement official has released new details on the progressing investigation. Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro announced Monday that three of the people initially detained for ties to the attack have been freed, as investigators continue to sift through evidence and narrow down suspects.
In a key correction to earlier initial reports, Guevarro confirmed that autopsy results completed Monday show the slain officer, acting Corporal Anusha Eversley, did not die from a gunshot wound as first suspected. The forensic pathologist’s findings determined her cause of death was strangulation compounded by blunt and sharp force traumatic injuries, which Guevarro confirmed points to her being bludgeoned to death during the attack.
“Corporal Eversley’s death was indeed a shocking moment to the nation, and the heist of several weapons and ammunition—that is an extreme concern to the TTPS,” Guevarro told reporters at a Monday news conference.
Initial detentions following the Sunday attack saw six people taken into custody: two serving municipal police officers, two women, and two additional civilian men. Guevarro clarified that as questioning and evidence gathering progresses, three of those initial detainees – two women and one man – have been released, leaving six men between the ages of 16 and 33 still in police custody. The top cop added that further adjustments to the roster of people in custody are expected as the probe deepens.
In a major breakthrough for the investigation, Guevarro confirmed that authorities have already recovered the vast majority of the stolen weaponry. So far, 38 firearms have been retrieved, including an MPX submachine gun, a shotgun, one revolver, and 35 pistols. Along with the firearms, 929 rounds of ammunition have also been recovered: 909 9mm rounds, 10 .38 caliber rounds, and 10 shotgun cartridges.
Guevarro added that the investigation into the attack is expanding beyond identifying direct perpetrators, with authorities now targeting systemic gaps across the national municipal police service that allowed the attack to occur. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar confirmed over the weekend that the attack was an “internal betrayal” of the municipal police service, not an external assault on state security, noting that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) is a separate entity from the San Fernando-based Municipal Police, and no TTPS officers were involved in the incident.
In response to the breach, Guevarro said the TTPS is rolling out immediate system-wide reforms focused on strengthening firearms storage protocols and enforcing strict adherence to existing weapons policies and operational standing orders, designed to prevent similar attacks from occurring in the future. Investigators are also continuing to interview Eversley’s colleagues to probe for potential accomplices who may have aided the attack.
“The public is assured that this investigation remains top priority and updates will be provided as new information becomes available,” Guevarro said.
The attack comes amid a nationwide ongoing State of Emergency, with opposition leaders already questioning whether current security measures are sufficient to curb rising violent crime and prevent high-profile security breaches. Responding to public speculation, Persad-Bissessar confirmed that despite the attack, there is currently no need to implement a nationwide curfew. The TTPS has pledged full support to the municipal police service and San Fernando city officials as the probe moves forward.