A screenshot from a Trinidad and Tobago Police Service YouTube video, showing aspects of a joint police-army patrol after protests in east Port of Spain, January 19, 2018. On Febuary 19, 2018, many social media users in Trinidad and Tobago woke up to a WhatsApp voice note that had gone viral, warning that certain districts of the country's capital city Port of Spain were blocked off due to street protests over the fatal shooting by police of Akile “Christmas” James, a resident of the community of Laventille. Laventille is a low-income urban area bordering the capital. It has been labelled as a “hotspot” and point of origin of some of the country's violent crime. One 2014 Vice News report made specific reference to the country's role in the drug trade and the resulting impact on gangs and illegal guns in the downtrodden community. It is a stereotype that the local media perpetuate and that is often parroted by the rest of society, though some netizens have recently been questioning the narrative. Police, however, maintain that James was a murder suspect, allegedly in the recent killing of a prison officer. Residents say otherwise. The situation has highlighted the distrust that community members have for the authorities, as well as the contempt in which much of the rest of the country holds the Laventille community. The voice note which alerted citizens, sent by an unidentified woman who found herself “in the middle” of a protest, said that residents had blocked the roads and that “guys [were] running around threatening to shoot people”. Sirens can be heard in the background of the recording. Mainstream media journalists soon started tweeting images: Heavy police and army presence remains in East Port of Spain, following a protest this morning where residents of Basilon Street blocked their roadway as well as upper Picadilly Street, following the killing of Akile “Christmas” James at 3am today.@expressupdates @tv6tnt pic.twitter.com/v6VEA5tBQB — Alexander Bruzual (@NateGreyy) February 19, 2018 Meanwhile, netizens were recording the protests from their mobile phones. In one incident, a garbage truck dumped its contents — apparently by force — in the middle of an intersection: Residents were also apparently aided by someone with access to a garbage truck as video circulates online showing the vehicle dumping its contents onto the roadway. A woman is heard condemning the action while young men are heard supporting it. https://t.co/FRDvIgjJzL — Alexander Bruzual (@NateGreyy) February 19, 2018 In another video, a woman's voice is heard urging schoolchildren to get away from the heart of the protest. Soon afterward, people run towards the camera while loud noises (assumed to be gunshots) are heard in the background: The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service soon released a media statement saying that “police and army personnel went into action from 6:00 am today, in East Port of Spain, to quell disturbances among residents and remove debris that had been strewed across several streets, following a police involved shooting incident at around 3:45 am on Monday 19th February, 2018.” The release continued: Members of the Inter-Agency Task Force attempted to execute a search warrant for firearms and ammunition on premises located at Calvary Hill, when they were fired upon by the occupant of the house. There was a return of gunfire and the suspect was struck. The assailant, identified as Akile “Christmas” James, was taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital where he was pronounced head at 4:20 am. A Glock 45 pistol and seven rounds of ammunition were recovered at the scene. The media statement from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service about their search operation and the resulting riots in Port of Spain, shared widely via social media. The Facebook page NewSauce shared the statement and, using the hashtag #extrajudicial, commented, “Police admit they killed ‘Christmas’ and contained the subsequent unrest.” An extrajudicial killing is exactly what protestors are accusing the police of. One resident was recorded giving an interview to a local television station, in which he said, referring to James, “The person we are talking about is not a person that you would watch and say well, he's a ‘best’ child. Everybody knows he is a child of trouble [but] he had recently come out of prison and since he's come out of prison, you could ask anybody […] he's changed [..] he has a daughter and he's a changed individual.” The man alleges that video exists of the police knocking at James’ door, which he opened, and then the police “put him to kneel down and execute the young man”. James was 25 years old.