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  • Statement from the Antigua and Barbuda Dental Association Regarding the Devastating Fire at Gambles Medical Centre

    Statement from the Antigua and Barbuda Dental Association Regarding the Devastating Fire at Gambles Medical Centre

    A devastating fire that tore through Gambles Medical Centre in St. John’s has prompted the Antigua and Barbuda Dental Association to issue an official statement of solidarity and support for the dozens of medical and legal professionals who lost their workspaces and critical resources in the blaze. The association has shared that its leadership and membership are deeply shaken and saddened by the sudden, destructive event that has upended operations for dozens of providers at the multi-use medical facility.

    Among those hardest hit by the fire is Dr. Bernard Evan-Wong, owner of Gambles Medical Centre and a former Treasurer of the Antigua and Barbuda Dental Association. His dental practice, along with that of associate Dr. Sarika Mooteram, suffered extensive damage to clinical spaces, specialized dental equipment, and years of confidential patient records. The destruction extends far beyond dental care: six additional medical specialists, including oncologist Dr. Hanybal Yazigi, obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Leon B. Stevens, internist and rheumatologist Dr. Sharon Cordner, pediatrician Dr. Edda Hadeed, and surgeon Dr. Asha Robins, also lost all of their clinic infrastructure and patient documentation in the fire. Several attorneys and other non-medical professionals who maintained office spaces at the centre have also suffered major losses, including irreplaceable legal and professional records.

    In the statement released by association president Dr. Deborah Akande — a credentialed dental professional with DDS, FAGD, FICD and MBA qualifications — the organization emphasized that this tragedy reaches far beyond the personal and professional setbacks for the providers who work at the facility. It marks a significant loss for the entire nation of Antigua and Barbuda, as thousands of local patients and clients rely on these practitioners for essential, life-sustaining care and critical services. The disruption created by the fire will inevitably create challenges for community members accessing routine and specialized care in the coming weeks and months.

    The entire association extended its deepest thoughts and prayers to all affected providers, their clinical and administrative teams, and the families of those impacted, who are navigating the uncertainty and loss of this devastating event. Dr. Akande’s statement closed with a respectful request to the general public, asking for patience, understanding and compassion as these professionals work to assess the full scope of their losses and begin the long process of rebuilding their practices. The association expressed unwavering confidence that the affected providers will draw on deep reserves of resilience and determination to overcome this tragedy, and will eventually resume their vital service to the Antigua and Barbuda community, stronger than they were before.

  • Safety concerns raised over Skinner Park

    Safety concerns raised over Skinner Park

    A tragic fatal accident during the opening night of Trinidad’s annual Easter International Cycling Grand Prix has sparked urgent questions about the safety and suitability of Skinner Park’s cycling velodrome for competitive racing. The incident claimed the life of Colin Wilson, a 40-49 age category Masters competitor and member of The Braves cycling club, who passed away at San Fernando General Hospital following a crash during the six-lap race.

    According to initial reports, Wilson swerved mid-race to avoid a collision with another cyclist, before making contact with the venue’s perimeter fencing. The impact left him with critical neck trauma and severe hemorrhage, and racing was immediately suspended as emergency medical teams rushed him to care. The event was broadcast live to online audiences, and clips of the crash have since spread widely across social media platforms, drawing criticism from local officials for the lack of sensitivity toward Wilson’s family.

    Desmond Roberts, a former vice president of racing for the Trinidad and Tobago Cycling Federation and a longstanding figure in the local cycling community, was on-site the night of the crash. Though he did not directly witness the impact, he was among the first to arrive to provide aid to Wilson. Roberts, who is the godfather to one of Wilson’s two sons, described the scene as devastating, noting Wilson was unresponsive with extensive blood loss upon his arrival.

    “ I turned around and I walked over and there was blood on the track and all over him. I sat next to him and I said stay with me, and he was unresponsive, and I said to myself, he is going,” Roberts recalled in an interview with the *Sunday Express*. The tragedy has left the tight-knit local cycling community reeling, he added, and he extended his deepest condolences to Wilson’s widow and entire family.

    While Roberts could not confirm the root cause of the crash without witnessing it, he has long raised formal concerns about the design of the Skinner Park velodrome, one of only four active competitive cycling tracks across Trinidad. The venue joins existing tracks in Arima and Couva, as well as a new facility currently under construction in Palo Seco.

    Roberts explained that the extreme banking angle of Skinner Park’s track far exceeds international safety and design recommendations for competitive racing. Currently, the track’s banking measures 47 degrees, while the globally recommended standard for competitive velodromes is just 32 degrees. “It is like a hill. You are going around in circles and your body will be at an angle. If the track is flat, you can slide. The banking is to keep you from drifting too much to the right or the top. In Skinner Park it is not at the recommended angle,” he said.

    Years ago, during the track’s development, Roberts was consulted as an industry expert and flagged the improper banking to the project’s management team. After his feedback, organizers made a minor adjustment to the angle, but it still remains far steeper than the recommended standard. Proper banking is critical for giving riders control of their bikes while navigating corners, especially final turns, where fatigue can impact control, Roberts noted.

    “I do not believe the track was designed for high-level racing. Some people may or may not agree… The first time I raced on that track was December last year and I made a promise early in my career that I am not going to race on that track. Local cyclists, I do not know about international cyclists, but locals are sceptical of the track. Some can handle the track, some cannot,” he added.

    In response to the tragedy, San Fernando Mayor Robert Parris confirmed that local authorities are following official investigation protocols to determine the cause of the crash. Parris told the *Sunday Express* that he and local council members traveled to Skinner Park immediately after being notified of the incident Friday night. The city has extended formal condolences to Wilson’s family and declined to comment further on the death while an official investigation is ongoing.

    Parris confirmed that the San Fernando City Corporation’s health and safety officer is preparing full reports for both municipal leadership and the national Occupational Safety and Health Agency, as required by official protocol. The mayor also spoke out against the widespread sharing of crash footage on social media, urging local residents to respect the privacy and grief of Wilson’s family, noting the content was shared against the likely wishes of his loved ones during Holy Week.

    “I could not watch it. I passed it. It hurts me because the gentleman has a family. I know it was live-streamed but we need to be more sensitive and respect the family. That might not be something the family wants to see and be spread. We have become so desensitised to things. This is the Holy Week and I do not think that the family would want to see that,” Parris said.

  • Walker launches Barbuda campaign, pledges to defend rights and heritage

    Walker launches Barbuda campaign, pledges to defend rights and heritage

    As the upcoming parliamentary election approaches, veteran Barbuda People’s Movement candidate Trevor Walker has officially opened his campaign, doubling down on promises to safeguard the small island’s inherent rights, unique cultural heritage, and self-governance while making a direct appeal to local residents to back his party at the ballot box.

    In an official public statement released this week, Walker framed his candidacy around the core principles of trust and dedicated public service, pointing to his decades-long track record of standing in solidarity with Barbudan communities through the island’s most turbulent crises. “As I formally launch this campaign, I renew my heartfelt commitment to the constituents of Barbuda — a people whose strength, resilience, and unity have always defined this island’s character,” Walker shared in the statement.

    The candidate emphasized that his entire tenure in public office has been anchored in accountability to local voters and unflinching advocacy for priorities that matter most to the island. Key among these priorities, he noted, are secure land rights for Barbudan residents and expanded community control over local decision-making processes. “I have stood alongside the Barbudan community through its most difficult moments. My record reflects a consistent dedication to accountability, to protecting Barbudan rights, and to ensuring that the island’s people remain at the centre of every decision made on their behalf,” he added.

    Walker also drew a clear distinction between his leadership and that of his unspecified political rivals, arguing that his commitment to Barbudan interests has never shifted despite external and internal pressures. “While others have compromised their integrity for personal gain, my unwavering commitment has helped preserve the rights, heritage, and livelihoods that generations of Barbudans have worked to build,” he asserted.

    With voting day on the near horizon, Walker closed his statement by urging every eligible registered voter to support his bid for stable, independent representation in the national parliament. “As election day draws near, I call upon every constituent to cast a vote that reflects those same values — one that safeguards Barbuda’s cultural legacy, secures a strong and independent voice in Parliament, and places trust in leadership that has never wavered,” he said. He ended by reiterating that the Barbuda People’s Movement remains an unapologetically pro-people party, dedicated entirely to advancing the interests of all Barbuda residents.

  • Pope Leo urges all to choose peace in his first Easter message

    Pope Leo urges all to choose peace in his first Easter message

    ROME — On the Vatican’s iconic St. Peter’s Square, thousands of faithful gathered under a bright spring sky on Sunday to hear Pope Leo XIV deliver his first Easter Sunday message to the global Catholic community, marking a landmark moment for the first U.S.-born pontiff one year after he assumed leadership of the Church. Against a backdrop of ongoing armed conflicts across the globe, the core of Leo’s address was an urgent, uncompromising call for global leaders with the power to initiate war to lay down the path of confrontation and embrace dialogue-driven peace.

    Standing on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the pontiff issued a stirring appeal to global power holders. “Let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars and marked by a hatred and indifference that make us feel powerless in the face of evil,” he said. Expanding on his plea, he added: “Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace. Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue. Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them.”

    Many in the gathered crowd of thousands expressed public support for Leo’s peace advocacy, with one group holding aloft an Italian-language placard reading: “Pope Leo we are with you, guide our future.”

    In his message, Leo carried forward a core theme of his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, echoing Francis’ well-known framing of a “globalization of indifference.” He warned that global publics are increasingly growing numb to widespread violence, growing accepting of conflict and desensitized to human suffering amid ongoing war.

    Leo emphasized that the core spiritual meaning of Easter, the Christian celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, is rooted in nonviolence. “The power of Easter is entirely nonviolent,” he stated. He went on to announce a special public prayer vigil for global peace to be held in St. Peter’s Basilica on April 11. The event echoes a landmark 2013 vigil organized by Pope Francis amid the outbreak of Syria’s civil war, which drew roughly 100,000 attendees to rally against military intervention.

    After delivering his address, the pontiff extended Easter greetings to the global faithful in 10 languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Latin. He concluded the traditional service with the Regina Coeli prayer and the iconic Urbi et Orbi blessing, the historic papal address offered “To the City and the World.”

    Leo’s first celebration of Holy Week and Easter comes at a moment of heightened global conflict, and the pontiff has already signaled his proactive engagement in diplomatic efforts: he recently expressed public hope that U.S. President Donald Trump can secure an “off-ramp” to de-escalate and end ongoing hostilities in the Middle East.

    Just days earlier, on Good Friday, Leo completed the entire traditional Way of the Cross procession carrying the cross on his own at Rome’s Colosseum. During the service, the congregation offered prayers for the children of deported immigrants, while Leo warned that world leaders will one day be held accountable for their policy choices. A related deep dive report by CNN examines how Leo has systematically pushed back against claims that divine authority can justify war.

    Earlier on Sunday, during his Easter homily at the public mass, Leo centered his remarks on sustaining hope in the face of overlapping global crises, from ongoing armed violence to accelerating climate change and widespread systemic inequality. He tied the celebration of Easter directly to the world’s most pressing struggles, noting that the holiday’s message offers a response to “the cry of pain that rises from every corner because of the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys.”

    Acknowledging widespread public despair amid persistent injustice, cruelty, and indifference, Leo offered a message of cautious optimism. “Often it seems that God does not exist: all around us we see persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty. But it is also true that in the midst of darkness something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit,” he said. “Easter gives us this hope, as we remember that in the risen Christ a new creation is possible every day.”

    St. Peter’s Square was decorated according to long-standing Easter tradition, lined with vibrant seasonal flowers and flowering bulbs for the annual celebration. This report has been updated to include new details of the pontiff’s public appearances this Holy Week.

  • STATE OF BLOOD

    STATE OF BLOOD

    A wave of persistent brutal violence has shaken Trinidad and Tobago, with at least 30 people killed in targeted attacks, shootings and fatal assaults across the nation in the five weeks since the government imposed a new state of emergency (SoE) to curb rising crime, Deputy Police Commissioner Suzette Martin confirmed last Friday. The chilling death toll averages out to roughly one killing per day since the SoE took effect on March 3, defying official pledges to restore public safety.

    Among the victims are people from all walks of life, including high-profile figures, children, working professionals and even an elite athlete. One of the most high-profile killings took place on March 13, when controversial real estate developer Danny Guerra was ambushed and gunned down by two masked gunmen in a white car as he returned to his vehicle outside his Sangre Grande business premises. Just one week later, on March 17, 28-year-old female cricketer Rashme Deoajit was found stabbed to death with her throat slit in her Cedros home; a man known to the family has since been charged in connection with her murder.

    The violence has also claimed the lives of some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens. On March 31, an 11-month-old toddler, Jayden Sutton, was shot and killed alongside his 25-year-old father Joseph Sutton as the pair slept in their St James home. Police confirmed the father had been a witness to a separate shooting earlier that month and was cooperating with investigators, suggesting the killing was a targeted retaliatory attack. On March 23, three young men – 17-year-old Jordan Cudjoe Burke, 22-year-old Ishmael Matthews, and 21-year-old Roberto Samuel Carlos – were gunned down in a hail of bullets inside a ground-floor bedroom at Burke’s family property in Penal. Burke was the son of deceased local businessman and community activist Cedric Burke. That same day, the beaten body of 20-year-old mentally ill David Ramlakhan was found abandoned in bushes 200 feet from his New Grant home, where he had been left to die.

    Other victims include serving soldiers, business owners, and everyday residents going about their daily routines. On March 14, 30-year-old soldier Jaelani Garcia Williams was ambushed and shot dead while approaching his SUV outside a Chaguanas mini-mart; investigators recovered a loaded pistol from Williams’ possession along with multiple spent shell casings from the shooter’s weapons. Four people were killed across separate incidents on March 15 alone, including three men in different shootings across Laventille, and an unidentified man whose decomposing body was found floating in a Sangre Grande pond. Multiple other killings between March and early April have left victims unidentified, as law enforcement struggles to keep pace with the surge in violence.

    The ongoing bloodshed directly contradicts assurances delivered by senior government officials when the new SoE was announced. At the time of the declaration, Attorney General John Jeremie stated the government was determined to “never allow this country to deteriorate into the taste of chaos and bloodshed which we met in May 2025 when we took office.” To date, the state of emergency has failed to break the pattern of daily violence that has gripped the nation, leaving communities reeling from a steady stream of deadly attacks.

  • Easter Grand Prix tragedy

    Easter Grand Prix tragedy

    The tight-knit local cycling community of Trinidad and Tobago is reeling from an unimaginable loss, after a freak accident claimed the life of 44-year-old fan-favorite competitor Colin Wilson during an opening-night race at the Easter International Cycling Grand Prix.

    Better known to friends and teammates by his nickname “Creepy,” Wilson, a resident of Carenage, suffered a fatal neck injury when he crashed into a section of fencing while swerving to avoid a collision with another cyclist. The accident unfolded during the Masters 40-49 category race held Friday at San Fernando’s Skinner Park. Despite urgent, hour-long emergency intervention by medical teams at San Fernando General Hospital, the extent of Wilson’s injuries and massive blood loss proved too severe to save him. Organizers immediately canceled the remainder of the evening’s competition schedule in the wake of the tragedy.

    For former national cycling star Gene Samuel, who founded the cycling club Wilson raced for and employed him at his Woodbrook bicycle shop for 26 years, Wilson was far more than an employee or a team member. “He was like an adopted son to my wife Rhonda Lou and I,” Samuel said, his voice breaking with emotion as he described the widespread shock and grief that has followed the accident. Samuel was just finishing distributing awards to earlier race winners when the crash happened. “Everybody is devastated. It’s still hard to process, we can’t believe he’s gone,” he added.

    Over a quarter-century working alongside the Samuels, Wilson became an irreplaceable part of their family and business, with customers stopping by the shop in recent days to offer their condolences. As he works to support Wilson’s widow and three young sons, Samuel said the community is pulling together to provide any assistance the family needs during this impossible time. A decorated endurance rider, Wilson claimed a historic national championship Triple Crown, winning the road race, criterium, and time trial titles in a single season. What stands out most to those who knew him, however, is his constant willingness to help others and the warm charisma that made him popular across the sport. “He touched so many lives, and this loss is felt by everyone who knew him,” Samuel said. “I know he died doing what he loved more than anything.”

    Official statements from across the country’s sporting sphere have poured in honoring Wilson’s legacy and extending condolences to his family. The Trinidad and Tobago Cycling Federation (TTCF) emphasized that Wilson was a deeply valued member of the national cycling fraternity whose presence will be sorely missed. “This tragic loss has deeply affected the entire local cycling community,” the federation said. “We stand in full solidarity with his family during this devastating time.”

    Minister of Sport Phillip Watts echoed that sentiment, paying tribute to Wilson’s relentless passion for cycling and unwavering commitment to athletic excellence. “This is a profound loss for our entire sporting community, and my heart goes out to all of his loved ones,” Watts said.

    Despite the collective trauma of the accident, event organizers confirmed that the remainder of the Easter International Cycling Grand Prix would proceed as scheduled, continuing with international competitions including the Caribbean Track Championships and the Americas Track Cup series at the National Cycling Velodrome in Couva. Kester Lendor, board chairman of the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SporTT), noted that the event will continue in a spirit of respect for Wilson’s legacy, while organizers prioritize full transparency and athlete safety going forward. “We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss, and our thoughts remain with Mr. Wilson’s family, friends, and the entire cycling community,” Lendor said. “SporTT is committed to working closely with all stakeholders to fully understand the circumstances of this incident, while keeping the safety and well-being of all athletes, officials, and attendees our top priority.”

    The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee also extended its condolences, noting Wilson was also a widely respected bicycle mechanic and technician within the sport, and closed its statement with a simple wish: “May he forever Rest in Peace.”

    International competitors also shared their memories of Wilson, with top Barbadian cyclist Gregory Downie remembering him as both a passionate, formidable competitor on the track and a man of extraordinary humility and kindness off of it, who embodied the camaraderie that binds the global cycling community together. “His accident is a painful reminder of the vulnerability we all share and the risks inherent in our beloved sport. It calls us to be ever mindful of one another and to live by the principle of being our brother’s keeper,” Downie wrote.

  • Murder rate edges up in Western Division

    Murder rate edges up in Western Division

    Senior Superintendent Garvin Henry, the top law enforcement official for Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s (TTPS) Western Division, has openly confirmed a modest but concerning uptick in homicide cases across the jurisdiction in 2024. In an exclusive interview with the *Sunday Express* conducted last week, Henry stated, “We are seeing an increase, I will admit. The last figures I saw showed a slight increase in murders in the Western Division, and that is of concern to us, and that is a major part of our focus.” Despite acknowledging the upward trend in killings, Henry stressed that local law enforcement cannot reverse this pattern without active collaboration from members of the public.

  • Guerra’s empire now under siege

    Guerra’s empire now under siege

    For years, Danny Guerra cultivated an image as a legitimate, successful businessman operating across Trinidad. But behind that carefully crafted public persona lay a sprawling network of high-level connections, spanning ranks of local police and prominent political figures. Insiders confirm this shadow alliance acted as an impenetrable shield, blocking official scrutiny and killing off potential criminal investigations before they could advance.

    When the 50-year-old was gunned down in a targeted assassination on March 13, he walked free without a single criminal conviction on his record, despite widespread persistent rumours of his deep involvement in illegal activities. Outstanding charges tied to allegations of unregulated unlawful quarrying will now never go to trial, buried alongside the tycoon.

    In the wake of his execution, those once-secret connections have emerged as a key to unpacking how Guerra evaded justice for decades, how his sprawling business empire became so deeply rooted in local commerce, and why a violent battle for control of his assets has erupted across the country.

    One of Guerra’s major holdings is a $21 million waterfront property located at Paharry Junction, along Toco Main Road in Sangre Grande, first reported by the *Sunday Express* last week. The bitter, violent dispute over this asset between Guerra’s relatives and a former business partner extends far beyond a single plot of land, investigators confirm. When a high-stakes land deal collapsed, that business associate placed a $600,000 contract to have Guerra killed, according to official probes.

    Guerra’s assassination has already sparked a wave of follow-on violence across the region. Roughly 10 days after his killing, Rondell “Patch” Adolphus, a former quarry supervisor with ties to Guerra’s operations, was shot dead at Trini Lime Resort. Unknown attackers also stormed Guerra’s private Sangre Grande residence, stealing multiple high-value items before fleeing.

    The escalating bloodbath has forced a key figure in Guerra’s business and personal life to flee the country entirely. A 42-year-old woman identified by multiple insiders as Guerra’s close business partner and new romantic partner left Trinidad in the days after the killing, convinced she was next on the hit list in the rapidly expanding murderous conflict.

    Court documents obtained by the *Sunday Express* show the woman assisted Guerra in July 2025 to transfer the Paharry Junction property mortgage from an East Trinidad bank to a separate mortgage institution. The paperwork, drawn up by a respected local legal firm for Guerra’s DG Homes Company Ltd, frames the transaction as a “consolidation of deeds and mortgage” covering a total value of roughly $43.1 million. The remaining balance beyond the $21 million land value was earmarked for large-scale development of the site. The deal was originally brokered by the same business associate who would later order Guerra’s hit, before he was pushed out of the venture and sidelined by Guerra, sources confirm.

    Investigators believe the scorned associate not only masterminded the assassination, but also recruited a trusted insider within Guerra’s circle to track his movements on the day he was killed, ensuring the attack would succeed.

    The 42-year-old woman first met Guerra more than five years ago while she worked at an East Trinidad bank, before later moving to a senior role at a local credit union, multiple sources confirmed. Most recently, she arranged an unsecured $30 million loan for Guerra, and she was already under active official investigation for that transaction at the time of his death.

    Insiders familiar with the pair’s relationship say Guerra bought a luxury St Augustine property for the woman roughly three years ago, putting both of their names on the property deed. A frequent guest at the home, Guerra also recently gifted her a brand-new Mercedes-Benz, and was reportedly planning to marry her before his death. The woman left her first husband and two children in 2023, finalizing a divorce shortly after, and just months after her departure, her 14-year-old son passed away.

    “Her joint ownership of the St Augustine property means she has a legal claim to a portion of Guerra’s business holdings and real estate empire,” one source close to the tycoon explained. “But that claim has put a target directly on her back.” The source added that many of Guerra’s long-time associates and inner circle members have grown resentful of the woman’s rapid rise to wealth and influence. With no formal legal documents guaranteeing the associates a share of the estate after Guerra’s death, eliminating the woman clears the way for other figures to file for a letter of administration and seize full control of all of Guerra’s assets.

    Tensions have boiled over into open conflict even within Guerra’s own family. In the days after the killing, one family member allegedly issued a death threat to another relative, accusing them of deliberately helping the business associate set up Guerra’s assassination. The relative who issued the threat has since gone into hiding, after a price was put on his own head. He is also currently wanted by local police under a preventative detention order (PDO), and was in line to take over leadership of Guerra’s company before the assassination.

    Public record documents obtained by the *Sunday Express* show that just two months before his death, in January after Guerra was released from a month-long prison stint held under a PDO, he removed two people from their director positions at DG Homes Company Ltd, leaving only himself and two family members as active directors. When Guerra’s last will and testament was read to heirs last week, multiple close associates and family members were shocked to discover they had been cut out of the estate entirely, deepening existing rifts and distrust.

  • ‘What’s the point of an SoE?’

    ‘What’s the point of an SoE?’

    A horrific double shooting that claimed the lives of a 25-year-old man and his 11-month-old son as they slept in their Dundonald Hill, St James home has sent shockwaves across Trinidad and Tobago, leaving a tight-knit community paralyzed by grief and fear, and reigniting fierce questions about the effectiveness of the country’s ongoing state of emergency (SoE) to curb spiraling violent crime.

    On Tuesday, Joseph Sutton and his infant son Jayden Sutton were gunned down in their bed in what residents describe as a new low for the region’s long-running gang violence crisis. When reporters from the *Sunday Express* visited the community two days later to speak with residents and family members, grief and fear hung heavy over the quiet, mostly empty residential street.

    Magnus Sutton, father of Joseph and grandfather of Jayden, shared the crippling pain that has driven his family from the home they once shared. “We couldn’t bear to be in the home,” he explained. “Every morning, Jayden would be up, playing and crawling about. Now he’s gone. My son would have been up early, tending to his common-law wife and child before running out to the mini-mart he operates down the road. Now he can’t do any of that. All the joy is gone. So that house is not a place we want to be right now.”

    Sutton added that while the wider nation has already shifted its attention to other events and political headlines, his family remains trapped in acute mourning, with no clear path forward. “I know there have been other murders since. I know politics is taking up the headlines, but we are still suffering. We are still taking it very hard. We honestly don’t know what to do or what comes next,” he said. As of last Thursday, the family was still finalizing double funeral arrangements, with a goal of setting a service date by the end of the week.

    Most residents declined to speak on the record, hiding behind locked doors out of fear of retaliation from local gangs. But those who agreed to share their views expressed overwhelming horror at the killing of an innocent child, a violence so senseless it has eroded the last shred of sense of safety even inside private homes.

    Local resident Sandra encapsulated the widespread anger and despair felt across the community: “People not even safe in their own homes again…. Sleeping and getting shot? And a baby, too? Nah, this country reaching somewhere real dark now. And all this happening in an SoE? What is the point then? Because it is clearly not working.”

    One long-time resident echoed that sentiment, noting that the unprovoked killing of an infant breaks even the unwritten rules of criminal conflict that once spared innocent bystanders and children. “This one hit hard,” he said. “It is not just another headline—it’s a baby. I still trying to wrap my head around that. If you come for a man, wrong is wrong, but you come for him. Back in the day, there was an order. These young, wannabe thugs have no care for anyone or anything anymore.”

    Another resident added that the attack has left the entire community unable to sleep soundly: “When children are getting killed, people are genuinely frightened to even sleep properly because we don’t know what is coming next.”

    This double murder is far from an isolated incident in St James, which has seen a steady surge of brutal gun violence over the past 18 months across Dundonald Hill, Belle Vue and surrounding neighborhoods. A timeline of major violent incidents in the area reads like a chronicle of growing chaos: Just two weeks before the double killing, on March 16, Joseph Sutton was already targeted in a separate shooting that left another man injured. In February, two men from Laventille, 20-year-old Israel Payson and 24-year-old Jubriel Worrell, were shot dead during Jouvert celebrations on Damien Street and Mucurapo Road. In January, 24-year-old Jair Gilkes and 21-year-old Miguel Joseph were killed in a shooting near the Belle Vue Community Centre, with a third man wounded. In December 2025, 56-year-old Nicole Ovid was beaten to death and her body left on a Finland Street pavement, with 60-year-old Kenneth Charles charged in connection with her killing. In May 2025, 28-year-old Mark Anthony Ellis was killed and his 20-year-old companion wounded in a drive-by shooting as they socialized under a shed on Alfred Richards Street. The earliest high-profile killing on record dates back to October 2022, when 30-year-old Korey Clarke and 31-year-old Samantha Patrick were found shot dead in their bed just off Dundonald Hill, leaving their unharmed seven-month-old daughter in the room with their bodies. Four men have since been charged in that double killing, along with weapons offenses.

    Even for a community long accustomed to the threat of violence, the brutal killing of a sleeping infant has pushed residents to a breaking point, with widespread calls for action to address the failure of current public safety measures to stem the tide of bloodshed.

  • Nine minors among the 200 poisoned by alcohol in 24 hours during Holy Week

    Nine minors among the 200 poisoned by alcohol in 24 hours during Holy Week

    Public health officials have recorded a sharp uptick in acute alcohol poisoning cases across the region over the latest 24-hour monitoring window, new data from the Emergency Operations Center (COE) confirms. In total, clinical teams responded to 200 confirmed cases of alcohol poisoning requiring urgent medical intervention during this period — a 38% jump from the 145 cases registered in the preceding comparable monitoring cycle. What has raised particular public concern is the inclusion of nine underage patients, all falling between the ages of 11 and 17, in the latest count of those needing treatment for alcohol-related poisoning. Alongside the spike in alcohol poisoning incidents, the COE also released data on foodborne illness linked to the Easter holiday period. To date, 73 people have sought and received medical care for symptoms of food poisoning connected to holiday gatherings and public dining over the Easter weekend. The COE has not yet released additional details on the geographic distribution of cases, patient outcomes, or potential sources of the contaminated food linked to the holiday illnesses, and has not announced any formal public advisories accompanying the latest case count updates.