Man who attacked three in Kingstown taken for psychiatric evaluation

The believed mentally ill man who on Thursday, November 2 injured three persons in Kingstown has been taken to the Mental Health Centre at Glen for a psychiatric evaluation.

He remained there up to press time and an officer attached to the Police Public Relations Department said no charges have been filed in relation to the attacks.

The man, identified as Cornelius “Power” Kennedy, of Lowmans Leeward is said to have struck three persons over a period of six minutes, the first being around 6. 40 p.m. Those injured were transported to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) and two of them were taken, unresponsive, to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where they were still warded at the time of going to press. A release issued by the Police Public Relations and Complaints Department said the other victim was treated at the Accident and Emergency Unit and discharged.

According to the police release, the first incident occurred in the vicinity of the Central Market, Kingstown at about 6:40 p.m. while the second incident took place on Halifax Street at the entrance of the Ministry of Transport and Works headquarters at about 6:43 p.m. The third person was struck at the car park which is located adjacent to the Financial Complex in Kingstown at about 6:46 p.m.  

Kennedy was apprehended by the police the day after the attacks.

He is said to have been issuing threats to persons with whom he came into contact earlier in the day.

A day after the attacks, a social media user wrote on Facebook that he had threatened to kill a group of persons in the vicinity of the Kingstown Central Market and a report was made to the police.  

A similar incident took place in November 2016 when Old Sandy Bay resident Jurani ‘Wanny’ Baptiste, a man with a history of mental illness, is alleged to have gone on a murderous rampage between Sunday night November 13 from around 11:00 to around 2:00 a.m on Monday morning November 14. 

 At the end of those attacks, four persons were dead.