A 34-year-old man with addresses in Laventille and Morvant was shot six times at Independence Square, Port of Spain, on Sunday night.
Justin Ferguson was shot once in the left shoulder, twice in the right shoulder, once in the right heel, again in the right ankle and the last shot was to his back.
He was standing in front of a shop awaiting transport when silver Nissan AD Wagon pulled up alongside him and the occupants began shooting. Ferguson tried to run away but was hit.
As he collapsed, passersby called Besson Street police, who took Ferguson to the Port of Spain General Hospital, where he was operated on and warded in the intensive care unit. Doctors said yesterday Ferguson’s condition was critical.
Police said they are working on information that the attempt on Ferguson’s life was on a directive from a Muslim gang. They said they received information last Monday that members of the Muslim gang at the Golden Grove prison agreed to put aside their differences and target the Rasta City gang. As a result, several members of the latter have been murdered.
Police also said they are bracing for retaliation from the Rasta City gang, saying the Port of Spain division had been relatively quiet for several months, but with the war between the Muslim and Rasta gangs escalating, they expect more killings.
Up until yesterday there had been 36 murders this year in the Port of Spain division.