Trinidad: Getaway car found in Rachael Sukhdeo attack

Rachael Sukhdeo with talk show host Ian Alleyne. Source: Facebook

(Trinidad Express) Police have found the getaway car used by gunmen who attempted to kill Rachael Sukhdeo—the widow of murdered real estate and car dealer Sheron Sukhdeo, on Mother’s Day.

The car, a Nissan Tiida suspected to have been stolen, was found abandoned not far from the shooting scene.

Police were told that around 3.15 a.m. yesterday Sukhdeo, a mother of two, was leaving Hanggers Extreme restaurant and bar in Heartland Plaza, Chaguanas, when gunmen began firing toward her.

A screenshot from the video that captured a woman identified as Rachael Sukhdeo running from the gunshots.

Sukhdeo was not hit and was able to escape the scene and ­report the attack to Chaguanas Police Station.

She was with a male companion at the time of the attack.

Police said no one else was shot in the incident. However, several people were injured and taken to hospital for treatment.

Witnesses reported seeing masked men fleeing the scene.

Several vehicles and the building were hit by bullets.

Someone captured the sound on the gunshots and a woman identified as Rachael Sukhdeo sprinting through the parking lot, away from the gunfire.

Hours after the attack Sukhdeo updated her Facebook page, making no mention of the shooting attempt, but wishing her friends and family a happy Mother’s Day.

A history of violence

t’s the latest in a string of incidents to affect the affluent family. Sheron Sukhdeo was killed in March 2018 after being shot near the home of one of his wife’s relatives in Charlieville.

Rachael Sukhdeo’s ­brother, Phillip Bassant, would be ­murdered a mere two weeks ­later, not far from where her ­husband was killed.

April and May 2018 also saw the deaths of Sheron’s neighbour, Joshua Plaza, and a ­former employee, Erwin Beckles.

Sheron’s younger brother, Sheldon, was kidnapped in January 2019. A $2 million ransom was requested, but six weeks later his body was found in a forested area in Las Lomas. None of these incidents led to arrests.