Loop: On Monday afternoon, Prison Officer, Nigel Jones, who was assigned to the Wayne Jackson building at the Maximum Security Prison at Golden Grove, Arouca, was shot dead in Siparia.
The killing was captured on CCTV Cameras set up in the area.
At 1:30 pm yesterday, Jones and his three-year-old daughter were standing on High Street near the Fyzabad taxi stand when a silver Mazda 323 motor vehicle pulled up alongside him.
At the time, he was holding the hand of his three-year-old daughter.
An occupant of the car opened fire on Jones as the vehicle pulled up next to him.
Jones was shot to the head and fell to the ground.
Thankfully, the toddler was not injured.
However, she witnessed the incident and could be seen frantically running away from her father, trying to make sense of what she witnessed.
She ran into a car park where she was held by someone who attempted to comfort her.
Persons notified the police and officers of the Siparia CID and the South-Western Division Task Force responded.
However, the suspects made good their escape.
Commissioner of Prisons Dennis Pulchan, speaking with the media yesterday, condemned the incident.
“First allow me to extend my condolences to the friends and family of Mr Jones. His death has hit our institution very hard, especially following last week’s killing with Mr Serrette. I’m not comfortable that my officers are falling. At the end of the day, a prison officer is there to do a job. He’s not there to fight anyone. He’s there to maintain security. It’s his job. There are criminal elements in the prison walls who take this differently, and seriously and go against them for just doing their jobs. And this is unacceptable.
“This is an attack on the country, on law enforcement. This is not a prison issue, it’s a National Security. The Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service is a member of the National Security landscape and everything that can be done is going to be done to bring an end to these attacks and find those responsible. Being a prison officer is one of the most high-risk jobs in the country right now and I am urging all officers to be on the alert and to be cautious. There are cold-blooded killers out there, who want to do harm to prison officers for doing their jobs,” Pulchan said.
On Friday, Prisons Officer II, Trevor Serrette, of Valencia was gunned down at a fruit stall near his home.
Serrette, a member of the Prison Service for over 26 years, was also last assigned to the Wayne Jackson Building, Maximum Security Prison.
An emergency meeting was called by members of the executive who were working with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service to have the persons responsible arrested and charged.
