The investigation into the shooting incident in front of the home of the deputy commissioner of prisons Sherwyn Bruce is still ongoing, despite the death of the main suspect Emmanuel Joseph, 22.

Joseph was arrested after the incident in which two men opened fire on Bruce’s vehicle while his daughter and his driver were seated in it.

Joseph was being held in remand after he appeared in court last Thursday to face two counts of attempted murder.

However, he died last Friday at the Arima Health Facility, where he was taken after complaining about chest pains.

Head of the TT Police Service North Eastern Division Snr Supt Mervyn Edwards confirmed to Newsday that the investigation had not been closed despite Joseph’s death.

“There are other aspects of the investigation ongoing. It is more than one person that did the shooting. We also have another aspect with respect to gang activity and so the police work still has to be done.”

When contacted, Deputy Commissioner Bruce said his family was still recovering from the incident and expressed his gratitude for the support he had been receiving.

He remained tight-lipped on questions about him and his family possibly moving out of the community after the incident.

“I can’t tell you, because if I do then it becomes a security issue so I can’t tell you the security plans.”

Prison Commissioner Deopersad Ramoutar told Newsday Bruce’s driver, prison officer Steve Phipps who was shot during the incident, was still hospitalised but recovering well.

“Mr Phipps is recovering well. He is in private medical care at an undisclosed location and in good spirits.”

Ramoutar said Phipps would be free to decide whether he wanted to resume his duties as Bruce’s driver.

He said if Phipps did not want to do that, other options would be made available to him.

Ramoutar said he did not believe Phipps’ injuries would affect his ability to do his job.

“He is a very resilient person and will overcome this trauma. Just like any of our officers who have been hand-picked to perform a specific task, Mr Phipps is one of the better drivers in the prison service. That is why he was selected to be the deputy commissioner’s driver. Thank god his injuries wasn’t more serious.”

Ramoutar said Phipps was receiving counselling but refused to speculate on whether Phipps’ mental state could affect his return.

“He is already receiving psychological care so the counselling will go hand in hand with the medication he will have take, but that will not affect his job. I won’t assume that he has any psychological issues.

All I know is that he was physically hurt and his physical injuries will be dealt with.”

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