J’Ouvert celebrations in San Fernando were shut down by the police after a reveller was murdered.
There was also a report of a shooting and several others people were stabbed in San Fernando.
The heavy presence police on alert in light of the terror threat did not curb the violence which led to police cut off stop the celebration, particularly to avoid any reprisal in response to the murder and shooting.
The police did not prevent the bands from being judged but they stopped the music promptly at 11 am when judging ended. There were two judging points at Independence Avenue and Harris Promenade.
The official time for music to end along the route was midday.
According to police reports, around 8.20 am Osei Joseph, 24, of La Romaine, who was with friends in a J’Ouvert band, had an altercation with a group of men on Cipero Street. One of the men whipped out a knife and stabbed him three times, once in the neck and twice in the back.
Twenty minutes on the same street near Park Street, another man was shot. Police said Kion Jack, 26, of Montgomery Street, Ste Madeleine, was liming with friends when they heard a loud explosion.
Jack was shot to his upper body and fell to the ground. He was shot once, but the bullet when through his chest and back. There were also several reports of fights and minor stabbing incidents.
Two young men were also arrested after they tried to rob revellers along Rienzi Kirton Highway with an imitation gun. Police was also called to a two-car collision along Lady Hailes Avenue near the entrance to the San Fernando General Hospital.
In a miraculous incident, around 10.30 am yesterday the driver of a white Lancer walked away from a serious accident in which his car split into two pieces after a collision with an electricity pole along the Valencia Stretch.
Up to yesterday afternoon, investigators were conducting enquires to try to locate the driver. Officers of the Sangre Grande Police Station received an anonymous call about the accident. The driver, the lone occupant, slammed the vehicle into a light pole.
The driver alighted and walked away, eyewitnessed told police. He did not appear to have any visible injuries, an eyewitness told police.
