The celebrations of newly crowned Chutney Soca Monarch Kris "KI" Persad were yesterday dampened after a gunman invaded a victory party held at his Barataria home. In an interview with the T&T Guardian mere hours after the incident, an unfazed Persad thanked God that the attacker was apprehended by the police. Persad and approximately 50 of his closest friends and relatives escaped the ordeal after the attacker was shot by one of Persad's relative. The incident occurred around 4 am outside Persad's family home in Barataria.
Police said that on arrival at the house, after the competition which was held on Saturday night at the Queen's Park Oval in Port-of-Spain, one of Persad's relatives was approached by the attacker. The gunman then proceeded to snatch the relative's gold chain before demanding the keys to his vehicle. Persad's relative, who police requested remained unnamed, reportedly drew his licensed 9 mm firearm and discharged it once hitting the man in the abdomen.
The gunman fell to the ground where he was disarmed. Friends and relatives contacted officers of the Barataria Police Station, which is located within waking distance from Persad's home. A team of officers of the Barataria CID led by ASP Mahabir responded and the injured man was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he remains in a stable condition after undergoing surgery. The officers then returned to the family's home where they proceeded to take statements from Persad's relatives for several hours.
Police recovered a home-made firearm which contained one round of ammunition at the scene. The suspect, said to be in his 20s, is expected to undergo identification parades later this week in relation to several robberies in the Barataria area. Police are working on the theory that the gunman may have been waiting at the location to pounce on the party's arrival. "We stopped along Ariapita Avenue to celebrate before coming home. If we did not do that maybe it may have been me that the man attacked," Persad said.
Shortly after 2 am on Sunday, 25-year-old Persad was announced as the winner of this year's Chutney Soca Monarch competition coping the $1 million prize. "I want to say thank you to everyone that supported me, my band JMC Triveni and my song Single Forever," Persad said. Persad described his feelings on being the youngest-ever winner of the competition as being "priceless."
Asked whether the theme of the song was something he believed in, Persad said: "I love to sing about topical things and on topics that people could relate to." "It is not my personal theme at all, it is all for entertainment," Persad noted. Asked about his chances of winning the Groovy Soca Monarch competition scheduled for this Friday, Persad said he was just planing to have fun while performing and not concentrate on winning. "I grew up looking and learning from all the performers in the competition like Machel Montano and Kes. I just going to go onstage and have a good time." Guardian Media Limited is a sponsor of the Power Soca Monarch competition which will take place at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.