Attack by masked gunmen leaves one man dead, two hospitalised

Two men, who were shot by masked gunmen last week, have been known to police for quite some time.

28-year-old Wilford Woodley, who was shot and killed outside a shop in Belair on Friday, August 15, gained notoriety in 2010, when he was suspected of pulling off a string of armed daylight robberies in and around Kingstown.{{more}}

Woodley’s escapades came to an end last week, when according to police, shortly after midday on Friday, a vehicle pulled up outside the shop where Woodley, Garvet Foster and some other men were congregated, and three masked gunmen came out of the vehicle and opened fire on the crowd.

Woodley and the other persons tried to escape the volley of bullets, but he was pursued by one of the gunmen and shot multiple times. Woodley died at the scene.

Foster was shot in both legs, while another individual, Romano Kydd, is reported to have broken a leg as he tried to evade the gunmen.

Police say Kydd attempted to escape the carnage in a rented vehicle, but crashed the car some time after, possibly because of his injury.

Both Kydd and Foster are now patients of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.

On January 26, 2010, Woodley was arrested and charged with snatching a woman’s purse and for firing shots at police who chased him.

The following month, Woodley quietly sneaked out of the High Court in Kingstown during a bail hearing, and evaded police for three years as a fugitive. During that time, he allegedly continued his robbing spree around the country.

In January 2013, Woodley, also known as “Wolf,” was held in St Lucia by police authorities and sent back to St Vincent to face trial for escaping lawful custody and for a string of crimes with which he had been charged.

St Lucian officials said at the time that while Woodley was a resident there, he stole television sets and disposed of them in St Vincent.

Back at home and in police custody, Woodley was sentenced to two years imprisonment in June 2013.

Foster’s rise to national attention came in 2012, when he was regarded as a key suspect in the robbery and assault of a local businessman.

Foster was suspected of being one of two men who held the owner of Medix Pharmacy, his wife and nephew at gunpoint, while robbing their Golden Vale home in November that year.

In January 2013, 30-year-old Foster was arrested after shooting a Grenadian, Kester Aban, multiple times during a robbery attempt at the man’s home in Grenada. Foster had entered Grenada illegally.

That same night, Foster unsuccessfully attempted to rob a Grenadian police officer, and shot at the policeman when he failed.

He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to three months in prison for entering Grenada illegally, and was remanded for the three other crimes.

Police here say that they are unable to determine if the shooting of Foster and Woodley is related to any of the other recent gun related crimes, which have resulted in more than 10 persons being shot, some fatally, in the past four months.

Investigations into last week’s incident are continuing, police say.