Female cop ambushed, shot outside apartmentGunman strikes moments after she returned from trip abroad

Senior Reporter

anna-lisa.paul@guardian.co.tt

Police constable Quianna Mahabir was listed as stable at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, last night, hours after she was ambushed and shot by a gunman seconds after arriving at home from an assignment with the T&T Police Service Band.

Mahabir, 30, of Hydraulic Road, Kelly Village, Caroni, was shot several times at 1.35 am, moments after she arrived from the airport.

Mahabir, along with a female friend, were ambushed in what was believed to be an attempted robbery by two armed men. She was shot at least twice during the incident outside her apartment along the quiet street.

She was collected at the airport by her friend and had just arrived home when they were approached by the armed men, who attempted to enter their vehicle and then fired shots at the car after they were unsuccessful.

The officer has been a drummer in the Police Band for the past three years.

She had returned to Trinidad at midnight with 16 other female band members following a 12-day tour of the Bahamas and New Jersey.

The attack has again prompted T&T Police Service Social and Welfare Association (TTPSSWA) president, ASP Gideon Dickson, to call on the Judiciary to ensure that gun-toting bandits face stiffer penalties for their acts.

Speaking with reporters minutes after meeting relatives of Mahabir at the EWMSC Accident & Emergency Department (A&E), Dickson said, “She is a fighter.”

He said despite her injuries, Mahabir’s will to live was strong and she was in a stable condition. He said Mahabir had a bullet lodged in her stomach while a second had entered the right side of her head and exited through her mouth.

“As it is right now, she is under heavy sedation,” he said, although admitting he had not been able to see her as only family were allowed that privilege at the time.

Even as Dickson was speaking, Mahabir’s relatives maintained a steady presence at her bedside praying for her safe recovery.

Comforted by friends and co-workers of Mahabir as they kept a careful vigil in the hospital’s corridor, one woman would only say, “All we want is for her to walk out of here.”

Dickson expressed confidence that based on the CCTV footage obtained from several points along the street, officials would soon, “make a big dent in this investigation in very short order.”

“We ought not to leave anything undone because it appears almost on a daily basis. Apart from members of the public being attacked and officers trying their best to bring perpetrators to justice, we are seeing where the officers are being attacked.”

He added, “That is not a good sign. It is not the best for a democracy.”

Noting Mahabir was the third police officer to be shot in less than two weeks, Dickson said, “It is never a good day to see law enforcement in this kind of predicament.”

The two previous shootings on October 14 at San Juan and on October 20 at Arima, claimed the lives of Special Reserve Police (SRP) officer Jerome Lee Bleasdell and PC Sheldon Peterson respectively.

Bleasdell, 32, of La Canoa Road, Lower Santa Cruz, had been on suspension when he was killed during a drive-by shooting along the Eastern Main Road as he left a supermarket where he was performing security duties.

In the second incident days later (October 20), PC Sheldon Peterson, 54, who had also been on suspension from the TTPS since 2014, was killed when he attempted to fend off three bandits who went to rob the Awesome Food and Drinks Supermarket along Olton Road, Arima, where he was working as a security guard.

Confirming they had offered a $20,000 reward for any information that could help solve Peterson’s murder in particular, as he had been a member of the TTPSSWA, Dickson said other entities can up the ante so they get people coming forward with information “so we can call those to account in short order.”

Dickson appealed to the public to work with the police and on the judiciary to do their part.

“Gun-toting bandits are having it too easy in this country of ours. They are going through the revolving door as if it’s no one’s business and they are glorifying what they are doing to the younger, more impressionable minds and that cannot be healthy in a society like ours with just 1.4 million people.”

He added, “We need to stop pointing fingers because all of us have a part to play in trying to solve this crime pandemic we are in at this time.”

As part of the TTPSSWA’s thrust to provide financial assistance to the families of fallen officers, Dickson said, “We have just put in place a system where if any officer dies presently for whatever reason, they would be entitled to at least $50,000.”

He stressed, “It cannot replace the love of a lost one but it can at least fill a void in the interim.”

He concluded, “If T&T really wants to see a difference in what is happening here, the conversation needs to be different.”

Meanwhile, TTPS Band director, Supt Wayne Guerra, said Mahabir’s fellow musicians were deeply affected by the shooting, as the all-female contingent had returned home in a celebratory mood following the successful conclusion of the tour.

The band received rave reviews from audiences in the Bahamas and New Jersey, where they also received a proclamation at the Sunshine Awards.

The team left T&T on October 9 and spent seven days in the Bahamas, before heading to the US. He said as news of the incident spread yesterday, panicked officers expressed grave concern and turned the tour “extremely sour.”

Residents living near Mahabir’s apartment, who reported hearing the gunshots yesterday morning, said they were shocked and frightened at once.

One man, who has been living in the area for over 50 years, said he heard a single shot and then the loud blaring of the horn and a woman screaming, “Call the ambulance.”

He said the area is usually quiet and was not known to be a hub for criminal activity.

Another resident, who also confirmed hearing the gunshot, said his 16-year-old daughter was too traumatised to attend school yesterday. He said the crime situation had forced them to build higher walls, install steel electronic gates and put up CCTV cameras in a bid to stay safe, but it was proving to be challenging as the criminals were finding a way around it, as was evident by Mahabir’s shooting.

CoP saddened by attack

In a release yesterday, Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher condemned the attack and said she stood with the officer’s family, friends and colleagues.

“I am deeply saddened and disturbed by the tragic attack on one of our off-duty female police officers. Such cruelty is jarring and is a reminder of the dangers our officers face both on and off duty. This comes on the heels of recent separate incidents where two other off-duty officers were fatally shot,” the CoP said.

“The availability of firearms in our communities continues to fuel gun violence, murders and other serious crimes. Access to these lethal weapons has regrettably fostered a culture of self-interest, brutality and lack of respect for human life and property.

“We know the task may seem unsurmountable; however, we wholeheartedly accept our role to protect and serve, therefore, we will remain unwavering in our resolve to tackle gun violence and remove illegal firearms from our communities.”

She appealed to anyone with information on the incidents to contact the nearest police station or call 555, 999, or CRIME STOPPERS at 800-TIPS.

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