Senior Reporter
anna-lisa.paul@guardian.co.tt
A nine-year-old child narrowly escaped being injured after his mother and other relatives went to purchase a vehicle advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace but instead came face to face with an armed bandit.
The youngster’s 34-year-old mother, however, was not as lucky as she was shot in the abdomen and is now in critical condition at hospital.
The incident occurred on Tuesday around 1 pm at Mission Road Extension, San Juan. It is the latest in a string of crimes resulting from social media scams.
A senior police official in the North Eastern Division reported 40 such incidents for the year so far.
Police said the group had gone to purchase a vehicle advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace when they were confronted by the armed bandit who demanded cash and their car.
As they attempted to flee, the armed bandit opened fire on them, striking the mother. The nine year old narrowly escaped being shot.
But quick work by officers resulted in the arrest of a 20-year-old man of Sixth Avenue, Malick, Barataria, as well as the recovery of an AR-15 rifle allegedly used in the incident.
Police said other suspects may be arrested.
Yesterday, Snr Supt of the North Eastern Division (NED), Mervyn Edwards begged people not to fall for the lure of “bargains” advertised on social media.
In a voice note message, Edwards again recommended that people come to police stations where lawmen can oversee the exchange in a secure and controlled environment.
Referring to Tuesday’s incident, Edwards confirmed it had “resulted from persons responding to a Facebook ad, a social media app and coming into the division to make purchases.”
He cautioned the public against this going forward.
“I want to make an appeal to members of the public to be careful looking at the offers on social media. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true. Be very careful with your dealings,” he said.
Revealing the NED had received over 40 reports of such transactions since the year began, Edwards said several calls had already been made for people to stop this practice.
He explained, “Persons lure unsuspecting persons into dark areas where they are robbed, beaten, shot at and sometimes wounded.”
In May, the Cyber and Social Media Unit (CSMU) of the T&T Police Service (TTPS) issued a strong advisory for the public to beware of the prevalence of Facebook Marketplace scams.
In a release dated May 22, the police warned of scams targeting unsuspecting online buyers, particularly those using Facebook Marketplace.
The TTPS said, “Criminals are exploiting this platform to orchestrate robberies, a trend not unique to Trinidad and Tobago, but prevalent worldwide.”
At the time, the TTPS said it was concerned over numerous reported cases where individuals selling and or buying goods online, had fallen victim to robberies or more serious crimes after being deceived by criminals posing as buyers as well as sellers.
They added that what initially appears to be bonafide transactions, sometimes take a dangerous turn when suspects use firearms to demand cash and other valuables from the victims.