(Trinidad Guardian) The owner of Benefit the People Food Supermarket in San Juan was gunned down on Sunday afternoon in Wallerfield.
The victim has been identified as Chinese national Jinme I Li, 44, of Eastern Main Road, Barataria.
Meanwhile, her Chinese companion, identified as Huojian Chen, 41, of Southern Main Road, Curepe, who was also shot in the left side of his head during the incident, remained hospitalised in a critical condition yesterday.
The two were allegedly driving south along Antigua Road, Wallerfield, when they were attacked on reaching the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, near the E-TECK Campus, around 6.10 pm.
Police said a Y11 wagon pulled alongside and the occupants opened fire on Jinme and Huojian’s vehicle.
The driver of the targeted car lost control and it veered off the road and careened into a ditch on the northern side of the highway.
Jinme reportedly slumped forward on the dashboard while Huojian, who was shot on the left side of his head, drove further off the roadway towards some bushes on the opposite side.
The assailants then escaped in a westerly direction.
Arriving officers found Huojian lying on the northern side of the road, gasping and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to the Arima Hospital for treatment and later transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope.
Officers later recovered two spent .45 mm shell casings at the scene.
When Guardian Media visited Wallerfield yesterday, residents were reluctant to speak about the recent up tick in shootings and killings in the area.
However, one woman working along Antigua Road described the situation as “scary.” She said the area was a hot-spot and seemed to be an attractive location for bandits, as well as those who were intent on using the sparsely populated area to dump bodies.
