Trinidad: Prominent Attorney Randall Hector shot dead hours after State of Emergency declared

Randall Warren Hector – a prominent attorney was fatally shot on New Year’s Eve, when he was leaving the Church at the Stanmore Avenue. Reportedly, Hector was with his family when assistants approached them and started shooting. 

The incident happened just few hours after the Government of Trinidad and Tobago declared a “state of emergency” due to rising gang violence.  

Reportedly, 43-year-old Randall Hector was walking towards his car after finishing the “mass” at the Seventh Day Adventist Church. As he approached to open the door, two cars including a black SUV and a B15 Sedan approached him, firing multiple shots. 

He was shot multiple times in the chest and taken to the hospital where the doctors pronounced him “brought dead”.  

Eyewitnesses, while speaking to local media stated that it appeared to be a “planned shooting”, and the assailants were waiting for him to get out of the church.  

Murder of Hector Possibly Connected to a Case He Was Handling 

The police are suspecting that the killing is related to a case in which Hector was said to be a prosecutor against a known gang leader of Trinidad and Tobago.  

Additionally, soon after the murder, a video of Hector’s sermon in church which was taken minutes before the shooting began circulating online. In his sermon, he addressed the State of Emergency directly, saying that the year 2024 had been a bloody year but he was looking forward to a better 2025.  

He outlined, “As we look forward to 2025, remember how God, good God has been to you. We have had a very bloody end 2024 for Trinidad and Tobago. Right now we are in the state of emergency. Regardless of what is happening out there, God has protected us.” 

Following the tragic incident, the victim’s friends, family members and locals expressed frustration against the government for lack of police’s presence across the island. 

A Failed State of Emergency 

The shooting took place about two hours after Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood Christopher addressed the citizens, saying that there will be ‘guaranteed’ results from the State of Emergency. He had implied that the gang violence, and homicide incidents would stop after the emergency.  

Taking to Facebook, several of them urged to take some action at the earliest. A local named Pearce Robinson noted, “The cold-blooded assassination of Randall Warren Hector, a special prosecutor linked to the #SSA, right after a State of Emergency (SOE) was declared, chillingly highlights just how much shit we are actually in and the total collapse of our national security apparatus, as I have been warning.” 

Another said, “Trinidad and Tobago is experiencing a lack of leadership on many fronts. It is extremely painful to see what we have become as a nation, even as the new year begins; in the midst of a state of emergency; the killings continue unabated. Heaven help us!”