PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad--Four suspects are in custody following a failed sting operation in which one policeman and a University of the West Indies (UWI) student was killed.
Dead are Police Constable (PC) Russell Ramnarine (24), who had been an officer for just over a year, and UWI engineering student Avery Keshwar (22).
The two were gunned down early Monday morning near a popular barbecue establishment as lawmen followed up on a report Keshwar had made, that a cell phone and other items were stolen.
According to police, Ramnarine and a uniformed officer had accompanied the student in an unmarked vehicle to meet a suspect in Aranguez, a community in the town of San Juan, to retrieve the stolen items.
“When the suspect observed the uniformed officer seated in the vehicle, he took off on foot, causing PC Ramnarine who was in plainclothes and the other officer, to alight from their vehicle and give chase along Williams Street, Aranguez. The uniformed officer continued the pursuit while PC Ramnarine made his way back to the vehicle where Avery was still seated. Upon entering the vehicle, shots from the nearby barbecue outlet were fired at both men who subsequently died at the scene,” a statement from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service said.
Contrary to reports, police said, there was no exchange of gunfire between Ramnarine and anyone else.
Investigations are continuing. ~ Caribbean360 ~
