标签： Trinidad and Tobago

Investigators probing the fatal shooting of Tobago-based craftsman Sean Parisienne have concluded the killing was a contract hit connected to a brutal chopping attack that took place in the region last year. Three men, all hailing from communities in Tobago East, are currently in police custody facing questioning tied to the high-profile slaying. The first suspect, a resident of Argyle, was apprehended by law enforcement on the very night of the murder last Friday. A second suspect, from Goodwood, Tobago, remains in detention as the investigation unfolds, while the third accused is also held for questioning. Law enforcement officials told local outlet Express on Wednesday that investigators maintain strong confidence in solving the case, with ongoing intelligence-driven inquiries pushing the investigation forward. The shooting unfolded just after 7 p.m. last Friday at the Gardenside car park on Gardenside Street in central Scarborough. According to official police accounts, an unidentified gunman approached Parisienne and fired multiple rounds at him before making a quick escape from the location. The brazen attack was carried out in plain view of dozens of bystanders in the busy commercial area, triggering widespread panic among members of the public who were nearby. First responders confirmed that Parisienne was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting. His murder marks the fourth recorded homicide in Tobago since the start of the calendar year. Curtis Williams, chairman of the Tobago division of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, told reporters he was in Scarborough conducting business at the time of the attack. Williams described the public killing as shocking, saying that the incident raised urgent questions about rising violence in the area. He noted that the neighborhood where the shooting occurred is a well-known high-crime block in local parlance, and argued that law enforcement has an urgent obligation to step up oversight in the region. Williams emphasized that local authorities cannot afford to allow crime to spread unchecked across Tobago. He called for immediate proactive action, saying officials should not wait for violence to escalate before intervening. Williams added that police should conduct regular patrols and checks on these so-called known high-crime blocks, and move to dismantle criminal networks operating in these areas before more violence occurs.

A massive coordinated manhunt is still underway across central Trinidad for two suspects who fled the scene of a fatal early-morning home invasion that left four suspects dead in a police-military operation on Saturday. Two other people connected to the incident are currently in law enforcement custody, but investigators have not yet closed the case as they work to track down the remaining fugitives and dismantle a suspected criminal ring linked to a string of recent break-ins in the region.

Law enforcement insiders shared new updates on Sunday, confirming that one of the two detainees is being held at the Caroni Police Station. The second arrested suspect was injured during an exchange of gunfire with responding officers and remains under constant police supervision at a local medical facility, where he is receiving treatment for his wounds.

Senior law enforcement officials confirmed that the two detainees are being held within the 48-hour detention window permitted under Trinidad’s existing legal framework. When this initial period comes to an end, investigating officers are prepared to submit a formal request to a senior officer ranked above Assistant Superintendent of Police to extend the detention period by up to seven additional days. Sources close to the investigation also told local outlet Express that authorities are already evaluating the use of extraordinary emergency measures, specifically a preventative detention order (PDO). This legal tool would allow officials to hold the detainees for the full duration of the active state of emergency (SoE) currently in place across the country.

The entire operation was triggered by a reported home invasion in the community of Cunupia early Saturday. Local police received an urgent call about the break-in and launched a rapid response, bringing in military support to contain the scene. The confrontation escalated into a shootout that left four of the suspected intruders dead. Two people were taken into custody at the scene, while two others managed to evade capture and escape.

In the days following the confrontation, police have maintained a visibly increased presence in the communities affected by the recent string of home invasions. Investigators are actively following up on every tip and lead they receive, with the dual goal of capturing the two remaining fugitives and breaking up the organized criminal network believed to be responsible for the recent wave of break-ins across central Trinidad.

As the search operation moves forward, government and law enforcement officials are calling on local residents to stay alert to any unusual or suspicious activity in their neighborhoods. Members of the public with any information that could help investigators locate the two at-large suspects are urged to come forward and share their tips with authorities.

A growing poverty crisis is reshaping vulnerability across Trinidad and Tobago, with economic strain pushing even employed households into financial instability and creating what local aid organizations have termed a rising cohort of “new poor” citizens. Long-standing charitable groups that have spent decades supporting marginalized communities say the demographic of people seeking help has shifted dramatically in recent years, driven by skyrocketing living costs and stagnant wages that have left even middle-income working families unable to cover basic needs. And across the board, they warn, children bear the most severe, long-lasting damage of deepening deprivation.

Latest 2025 data from the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative underscores the scope of risk facing the nation’s population. While just 0.5% of Trinbagonian citizens are categorized as multidimensionally poor, nearly 39% of the population faces high risk of falling into poverty. Urban residents face slightly higher vulnerability at 40.1%, a gap that reflects the disproportionate pressure of rising consumer costs in city centers compared to rural regions, where vulnerability sits at 6.6%. Independent estimates from local aid groups place the national overall poverty rate between 13% and 18%, with children overrepresented among affected households.

Simone de la Bastide, president of The Children’s Ark – a 25-year-old organization dedicated to supporting marginalized, abused and at-risk youth across the country – described the shifting landscape of need in an interview with the *Sunday Express*. “A percentage of the middle-income families are also struggling due to lack of secure jobs and the higher cost of living today. Let’s face it – everything goes up today but salaries,” she explained. De la Bastide emphasized that children suffer irreversible harm when raised in unstable, impoverished conditions: chronic stress from inadequate housing, food insecurity and family instability triggers depression, long-term physical health complications, and stunted social and mental development. Many children raised in poverty live in single-parent households with multiple siblings, often in overcrowded, unsafe structures or on the streets, raising alarming questions about missing youth who have disappeared from city street populations, she added.

In April 2025, The Children’s Ark demonstrated its on-the-ground impact by gifting a fully furnished, three-bedroom container home valued at TT $250,000 to an eight-member family that had been living in dangerous, substandard housing in St Augustine. Despite this progress, de la Bastide stressed that widespread deprivation often remains hidden from general public view, and that systemic change cannot come from charity alone. At the handover ceremony, she noted: “It is truly unacceptable that members of our society live in such squalor. There is such a great and serious need for significant improvement in many spheres within our social services.”

De la Bastide has called for formal collaboration between the national government and local registered charities, arguing that grassroots organizations already have on-the-ground connections to vulnerable communities that government agencies cannot match. “The NGOs, FBOs (faith-based organisations) and CBOs (community-based organisations) are on the ground, so to speak, and are in touch with the needs of the people and their communities. Our children are the nation’s future,” she said. By combining the government’s resources with grassroots outreach, she argued, the country could lift thousands of at-risk youth out of poverty, prevent them from falling into cycles of crime, and improve overall family well-being.

Zahir Ali, founder of 2025 *Express* Community Group of the Year Glimmer of Hope, echoed de la Bastide’s observations, confirming that poverty has expanded far beyond the nation’s traditional vulnerable groups to reach working households. “There has been a marked increase in working people who are still unable to make ends meet. Rising expenses and stagnant wages have made it difficult for many employed individuals to maintain a sustainable quality of life,” Ali explained. Demand for Glimmer of Hope’s humanitarian services has surged dramatically over the past year, Ali said, with persistent unemployment and soaring living costs pushing more families to seek aid. Unlike years past, many new clients now turn to local trusted charities because they deliver tangible support rather than empty political promises, he added.

Like de la Bastide, Ali highlighted that children face the most damaging long-term impacts of growing poverty. Limited access to nutritious food, quality healthcare and safe housing undermines children’s physical development, emotional stability and academic progress, creating barriers that limit their economic potential well into adulthood. To illustrate the current reality of poverty in the country, Ali shared the story of a Golconda family that faces daily uncertainty about where their next meal will come from – one of dozens of similar cases the organization has supported in recent months.

While Ali acknowledged that temporary charitable aid eases immediate hardship, he argued that long-term solutions require addressing the root causes of poverty through systematic empowerment rather than one-off handouts. He praised the current government for its ongoing efforts to address the crisis, noting that the administration has only been in office for one year, and deep-rooted systemic problems cannot be resolved overnight. To accelerate progress, Ali recommended that the government partner with the Ministry of Social Development to conduct a comprehensive national needs assessment to deliver targeted support to the most vulnerable households. He also advocated for policy shifts that prioritize skills development and economic empowerment to help families build sustainable, independent livelihoods over time.

Both organizations agree that while charity remains a critical lifeline for struggling households, it cannot solve the expanding poverty crisis on its own. Only coordinated action between government and grassroots community groups, they argue, can create the sustained, systemic change needed to reverse rising poverty and protect the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.

A brazen early-morning home invasion targeting a 70-year-old farmer in Central Trinidad has ended in a fatal shootout with law enforcement, leaving four alleged assailants dead, two in custody, and two fugitives still the subject of an intense manhunt as of Thursday night.

According to an official media statement from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), the violent incident began just before 4 a.m. yesterday, when the retired farmer from Cunupia was woken by a crashing noise at his rural property. When he investigated, he was confronted by a group of armed, masked men wearing gloves who immediately announced they were there to rob him. The attackers bound the elderly man before fleeing his home with just over TT $1,000 in cash and his personal mobile phone.

Thanks to quick alerts from local residents and intelligence-driven operations, TTPS officers backed by units of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force were able to intercept the suspect group not long after the robbery, near a neighborhood supermarket off Esmeralda Road on Ramnarine Trace. A violent exchange of gunfire broke out during the interception: three suspects were shot dead at the scene and later pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital, and two additional suspects were taken into police custody immediately. Two other members of the group managed to slip away from the confrontation, sparking a widespread search that continued through the day.

By 12:30 p.m. yesterday, search teams returning to comb three wooded areas adjacent to Esmeralda Road found the body of a fourth suspect, bringing the total number of fatalities to four. Law enforcement officials framed the operation as part of a sustained crackdown on rising violent property crime and invasive home robberies across the region, with senior leadership crediting seamless inter-agency coordination between police and military units for the rapid response.

When reporters from the Sunday Express visited the affected Esmeralda Road and Sampson Trace Extension communities yesterday, unmarked police cruisers were visible conducting regular patrols across the neighborhood and surrounding residential areas. One anonymous couple living on Charles Street, off Esmeralda Road, confirmed one of the fatally shot suspects was killed on their property, and offered praise for the speed of police response to the incident.

“It was a scary episode to go through; it was frightening for all the neighbours, but we worked together with the police and that solved the situation,” the woman of the couple told reporters. She added that the neighborhood had been on high alert for weeks: “Only the night before we began measuring burglar-proofing because we were hearing about these robberies inside here.” She recalled hearing gunshots early that morning but only realized the severity of the situation after neighbors called to alert her, after which she and her husband activated their home security cameras and saw a heavy police presence in the area. Local neighbors coordinated through group phone calls to share information, and when officers approached the couple’s yard, her husband opened their electronic gate to give police immediate access.

Another anonymous resident from Raghunanan Road said she had been alerted via a 3:21 a.m. WhatsApp message from a neighbor that the same gang of robbers had returned to the area and was attempting to break into another home. She told reporters police were called and arrived within 10 minutes to begin sweeping the area for the perpetrators, who residents told officers had hidden in thick brush behind local homes. Police moved along side roads toward the Cunupia area, stopping vehicles to search for the suspects, before temporarily pulling back. Around 5:30 a.m., residents reported hearing the distant sound of gunfire from the direction Ramnarine Trace. The resident said she believes the two remaining fugitives likely escaped through a network of overgrown brush and unmarked dirt tracks that connect Raghunanan Road to nearby residential streets in Cunupia.

Shortly after 1:30 p.m. yesterday, Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro released a public voice note advising all residents in the affected areas of Ramnarine Trace, Esmeralda Road, Sampson Road, Charles Trace and surrounding neighborhoods to remain vigilant, double-check home security measures, and immediately report any sighting of suspicious individuals to police via the emergency lines 999 or 555. He confirmed that the full weight of the TTPS is focused on locating the two escaped suspects.

Senior Superintendent Rudolph Bhagwandeen explained in a morning telephone interview that the operation was launched after two separate home invasion reports were received from adjacent communities, prompting a rapid mobilization of both police and military personnel. A loaded illegal firearm was recovered from the suspects during the search, he added.

Bhagwandeen noted that rising home invasion rates have become a troubling crisis for the Central Police Division over recent weeks, with repeated incidents reported across Chaguanas, Cunupia, Freeport, and the Las Lomas area north of the division’s jurisdiction. “Based on the trend of the home invasions and the modus of the persons committing the home invasions, we have identified the trends and have identified the increase,” he said, explaining that law enforcement had adjusted and ramped up anti-crime strategies in response to the spike.

Investigations had previously established that the responsible gang typically operates in groups of five, all wearing masks and gloves to avoid leaving evidence. Bhagwandeen confirmed two home invasions were carried out within blocks of each other on Wednesday night, and before yesterday’s confrontation, investigators were working to determine if two separate crews were operating in the region, or if a single network had split into two teams. It now appears the entire gang was active in the Esmeralda Road area yesterday morning, he said.

The targeted string of home invasions has stretched across the corridor between Longdenville and Raghunanan Road. In one of the most recent high-profile incidents on Friday, a 44-year-old Raghunanan Road woman was held at gunpoint and terrorized by three masked robbers in her own home.

When asked if the slain suspects had prior criminal records with the Central Division, Bhagwandeen confirmed they were already known to law enforcement. He acknowledged that persistent home invasions have left homeowners across Central Trinidad on edge for months, and that the issue is consistently the top topic of concern at community council meetings and police public town halls across the district.