A CRIMINAL deportee was shot dead yesterday morning when he attempted to rob a Port of Spain businessman at gunpoint in a Henry Street, Port of Spain, car park. (• See Page 8)

The incident happened at 9.10 a.m.

Police said around that time, the businessman had parked his car in the car park, located along Upper Henry Street, near Prince Street.

Police said when the man got out of the car, he was approached by Lyndon Everson Marshall, 44, of La Brea, armed with a rusty revolver. He pointed the gun at the businessman and demanded his cash, jewelry and cellular phone. Marshall threatened to kill him if he refused.

The man withdrew his licensed pistol and pointed it at Marshall, but before the alleged bandit could fire off a shot, the businessman shot him five times to the chest.

Marshall ran fifteen feet but then fell to the ground and died face up, with his arms outstretched. His revolver fell out of his hand and landed near his body. Within a few minutes of being shot, he died.

The businessman, along with some of the other businesspeople in the area, called the police, and a team of officers led by Supt Ajith Persad, along with Insp Carmichael, visited the scene.

Police said the man had not been initially identified, but investigators later checked his prints and positively identified him.

Gregory Aboud, president of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA), was also on the scene yesterday and spoke to reporters: "The country is dangerous; we can't change that fact," said Aboud.

He added, "We can't hide from the fact that parking lots, in general, are extremely dangerous, and this is not the only parking lot in Trinidad that is dangerous because, in fact, this should be a warning to all persons who leave their cars in parking lots that it is dangerous, regardless of whether you are in Port of Spain or a shopping mall."

Aboud, however, said he is cautiously confident in the appointment of Jack Warner as the new National Security Minister.

"Mr Warner's credentials precede him in his desire to be an action man, but I must say, we are very cautious in our optimism."

He added, "Because the fact of the matter, if you have sent (Brian) Lara in to bat with a coconut branch, you would end up facing the same difficult prospects, which are that the management system of our protective services is defective, and the good officers or the great officers are not being recognised, and as a result, they are demotivated, and unless we fix that, Mr Warner is going to have a very difficult time."

Port of Spain CID officers are continuing investigations.