A 57-year-old man and his son were shot and wounded by a gunman while trying to escape a fire at their home in Tarouba on July 12. Ricky Bhagawat and his 24-year-old son Rishi Bhagawat are currently in stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital as the family fears for their lives.
The attackers set fire to the family’s two-bedroom wooden structure along with a nearby storeroom and another structure, showing intent to harm the entire family as they slept. Luckily, no one was harmed in the two additional structures.
The father and son bravely attempted to put out the flames with water when a man nearby opened fire, injuring them before fleeing the scene. The motive behind the attack remains unknown, as no items were stolen from the property.
Ricky Bhagawat, who works doing odd jobs to make ends meet, lost his brush cutters in the fire, and his son Rishi works at a tire shop. The family is devastated by the event and expressed disbelief over what happened, as they claimed to have no enemies or ongoing disputes with anyone.
Upon responding to the scene, fire officers from the Mon Repos Fire Station quickly extinguished the flames, while Marabella police searched for the suspects. The police are currently investigating the incident, but no motive has been established yet. The family is left with many questions and uncertainties following the traumatic event.
