Cameraman recalls deadly shooting at Sheraton Mall

A cameraman who was mere feet away from where Damian Trotman was gunned down in Sheraton Mall two years ago broke down in tears on Thursday as he recalled the incident.

Christopher Wood, a videographer at the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, had to be given several minutes to compose himself as he recounted dropping to the ground after hearing a loud explosion while on assignment at the popular mall.

Wood was giving evidence as the murder trial of Hakeem Roberto Stuart continued in the No.3 Supreme Court before Justice Carlisle Greaves.

Stuart, 24, of Shelbourne Gap, St Lawrence, Christ Church is accused of murdering Trotman on March 21, 2019.

Wood testified that he was among media workers interviewing members of the disabled community in the mall when the shooting occurred.

“A couple seconds into the interview, there was this loud explosion and everybody was in a panic and then a couple seconds after that there was another explosion and I heard members of the disabled community saying, ‘What is that?’ and then there was this third explosion and I was on the ground,” Wood said.

He recalled that as he lay on the ground on his back, someone wearing a white shirt, three-quarter jeans and red shoes and holding a gun pointing downward, walked over him and ran out of the mall.

However, Wood said he did not see the person’s face or get a good enough look to give a description of the individual.

He said after the man ran through the mall’s eastern entrance, he grabbed his camera, which he had dropped after hearing the first explosion, and recorded him as he ran in front of FedEx.

Wood said he was not able to get a clean video because the camera’s viewfinder was not intact.

The cameraman said when he returned to the mall he saw Trotman’s bloody body on the ground.

He said both he and the reporter he was on duty with had to seek counselling as a result of the incident.

Shawn Cox, an orderly at the National Disabilities Unit, also took the witness stand.

He said he was accompanying “about six or seven” persons to an assignment at Sheraton Mall when he heard a loud explosion.

Cox said he initially thought a transformer had blown but soon realised that was not the case after he heard two more explosions.

He said while people were panicking, he took the disabled persons to a safe location.

Under cross-examination by King’s Counsel Andrew Pilgrim, Cox said he did not see the face of the shooter, nor did he see anyone with a gun.