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A police officer has fatally shot one of 2 men who reportedly robbed him of money he had to buy a boat engine.

The incident occurred last Saturday night in Longdenville, Chaguanas.

The officer who fired the shots at the 2 suspected bandits, told police he was on a gravel road with his wife, on their way to buy the engine.

He said they met 2 men, 1 of whom placed a gun to his neck and declared it was a hold up.

The men reportedly demanded $1,500 from the couple.

One of the men is said to have put the firearm in the police officer’s mouth.

The officer pushed it away and was able to fire several shots at the assailants.

The robbery victim went to the Longdenville Police Post where he made a report.

Police later found the body of a man when they visited the scene.

The man was shot in the chest and back.

Police say they also found a gun with 6 rounds of ammunition at the scene of the incident.

The visually impaired are to be assisted by a new application.

The Blind Welfare Association says the CVAS app was developed in collaboration with the Caribbean Telecommunication Union.

Executive Officer of the association Kenneth Surat says it will aid blind persons tremendously.

And he said the pilot would be expanded as time goes on.

CVAS stands for the Caribbean Video Assistance Service.

Ten more positive COVID-19 cases are recorded locally.

In a release the Ministry of Health says these patients will be processed for admission at the discretion of the CMOHs.

The release also says the number of persons testing positive at public and private facilities now stands at 5764 while the active case load is 661.

Meanwhile the Chief Medical Officer maintains that there were no positive cases of COVID-19 during a 24-hour period earlier this week.

The Ministry of Health reported zero cases of COVID-19 on Monday.

The report caused some speculation but during the COVID-19 briefing yesterday Dr. Roshan Parasram explained why there were no cases during that period.

The CMO further explained that this country is operating within the best practice policy for reporting of COVID cases.

The total number of fatalities attributed to COVID-19 now stands at 110.

The body of Anthony Walkes has been found after 2 days of searches.

Mr. Walkes fell while using a bridge at Halls Trace, Sisters Road, Eccles Village on Monday.

He was then taken away by floodwaters.

Officers of the Municipal Police and workers of the Princes Town Regional Corporation spotted his body yesterday morning at around 9 o’clock.

Residents are said to have seen Mr. Walkes fighting the raging floodwaters after he fell.

They tried to get him out but failed.

This led to searches for over 2 days.

Mr. Walkes was 49-years-old and is said to have suffered from mental illness.

And the body of 37-year-old Reachard Ali is found in a pond in Barrackpore.

It is believed he drowned while fishing at a pond near his home on Tuesday.

A farmer told police he saw Mr. Ali heading to the pond on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr. Ali’s relatives were informed that he was missing and a search had been launched.

The body was retrieved.

And a man also drowned while bathing at Las Cuevas Bay yesterday.

His name has been given as Bruce Constantine.

He was from Paramin.

It is reported Mr. Constantine was seen struggling in the water and was pulled out.

Efforts to resuscitate him failed.

Mr. Constantine was 45-years-old.

A post mortem is to be conducted today.

The police service has filed an appeal of a Magistrate’s decision to dismiss charges against 7 Venezuelan women and 5 local men.

They were charged with breaching Public Health Regulations in April this year.

The 12 people were allegedly found at a party in St. Anns, contrary to the regulations.

On Monday this week Magistrate Sarah De Silva dismissed the matters, after the prosecution said it wanted to have the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions appoint an attorney.

The police are said to have failed to abide by the previous orders of the court to disclose its summary of evidence.

It is now reported; the police service electronically filed the appeal on Tuesday.

A date for the hearing has not yet been set.

In a release Commissioner Gary Griffith says the collapse of the cases cannot be blamed on the police.

He says the police service was always ready and willing to proceed.

On Tuesday evening, Commissioner Griffith said he had asked for a report on the matter.

But he also insisted such situations are not as frequent as before his time in the service.

The 12 accused persons were held at what was described as a “COVID Sex Party” at Alicia’s Guest House in St. Anns.