Prime Minister absent from press conference: WHY WAS THE LAKE DECLARED | News Extra

Acting Attorney General Stuart Young said a state of public emergency (SoE) was declared because of the threat to national security posed by reprisal killings and the use of powerful weapons.

However, he assured that the country’s economy would not be affected as there would be no curfew and business would continue.

In a press conference, Young explained that the SoE was declared based on information provided to them by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS). He noted that there were elements they could not reveal details about.

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, head of the National Security Council, was absent from the press conference.

Asked about his absence, Young said it would not be “appropriate” for him to be the one explaining the details of the SoE.

However, he revealed: “This call for the state of emergency was based on information about threats made to us, the National Security Council, about retaliation by the criminal element and because of the use of certain types of weapons. We see brazen behavior by these criminal elements in the use of illegal firearms, which necessitated the calling of this public state of emergency.”

He further stated that the information provided indicated “very clearly a continued level of planning and execution by the criminal element using these illegal firearms.”

Young noted that there had been 61 homicides in December, with approximately 623 for the year to date. He expressed concern about the high-caliber weapons used in the murders, including the 5.56, 7.62, AR-15 and AK-47 rifles.

Young highlighted two recent incidents:

On Saturday, just after 3 p.m., outside Besson Street police station, a person was shot and killed with a high-powered weapon. Within 24 hours there was an incident in Laventille where six people were attacked and shot, five of whom were killed.

He said that intelligence and information provided by the TTPS indicated that there was a reprisal and that there could be increased reprisals in and around Trinidad and Tobago.

Young said: “In a nutshell, what the country is facing is a decision based on information about criminal activity – specifically the use of high-powered and high-caliber weapons.”

He explained that innocent people would be affected because of this and therefore the National Security Council had taken the decision to call on the President to declare a state of emergency.

The minister stated that the public emergency will specifically target criminals who use illegal firearms at high speed.

He noted that unlike the SoEs of 1990 and 2011, this SoE would not involve a curfew or affect public meetings.

This SoE is specifically aimed at countering the “brazen acts” of crime, he said.

Young added that under this SoE, the TTPS would have the power to search premises and individuals without warrants, as well as detain individuals for specified periods.

He explained that police could detain people for a 48-hour detention period, after which a senior judge could extend the detention for seven days to gather more information.

There would also be the power to stop and search anyone, he said.

Young said the defense force would be on standby to assist the TTPS and would have powers under the SoE.

He also mentioned that a court would be established.

The minister said the regulations providing further details on the SoE will be released later today.

National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds reminded the public of Prime Minister Rowley’s statement issued last Thursday just before midnight, calling on all citizens to step up in the fight against crime.

Hinds noted the recent fatal shooting of five people that occurred overnight in Laventille overnight.

He said this escalation in murders over the past 48 hours follows 15 killings over the four days that preceded it, from Monday, December 23 to Thursday, December 26, 2024.

“Police are interpreting all of this as a virtual outbreak of gang violence affecting and traumatizing the entire community,” he said.