Vendor killed in front of primary school

Following the shooting death of a vendor at the Mona Heights Primary School in St Andrew yesterday morning, principal Fabian Mahabeer said that they have started the counselling sessions for the students there.

He told THE STAR that the school would normally have been dismissed at 1:30 p.m. on a Friday to facilitate the various club activities.

However following the shooting, classes immediately stopped and counsellors brought in to speak to the children.

"We would have sent them home earlier but the body was there on the ground and I didn't want the students to see the gruesome act so we waited until the police came and processed the scene," he said.

Mahabeer said that even though the incident is a very unfortunate one, he is relieved that the children have the weekend to recover.

"We started the counselling session today (yesterday) especially those students who were in the vicinity of the incident. We try how we could possible shield them from the incident, but it very unfortunate," he said.

COUNSELLING SESSIONS

Mahabeer said that the vendor has been selling at the school for a very long time and the students would have been acquainted with him. He said that counselling sessions will continue on Monday.

"The same gentleman would have family members at the school so we have to see how best we can support them," he said.

The Corporate Communications Unit reported that an unidentified man was shot and killed by unknown assailants around 10:55 a.m. yesterday morning.

Investigators are checking if the vendor may have been the latest innocent victim of an ongoing gang war in the Hermitage community