By STACY MOORE Saturday, August 11 2012

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SCARED TO DEATH: Shiraz Massoom, driver of the backhoe, shows how he sat in the backhoe as he made his way along Perseverance Street in Carapichaima. ...

EARLY morning panic gripped the village of Perseverance Road in Carapichaima, central Trinidad, as a man holding a Bible and armed with a piece of wood with nails protruding, chased after residents uttering strange words and threatening to kill those in sight.

It was not long after the man identified as Glen Kelly, 38, also of Perseverance Road, attacked a backhoe driver and afterwards, was shot to the head by an armed security officer.

Kelly, was an employee with Pricesmart, Chaguanas, whom investigators said was receiving psychiatric treatment. Kelly was shot dead in the yard of one of the villagers home. He was pronounced dead at the Chaguanas Health Facility.

According to reports it was about 7.15 am yesterday when Kelly was seen walking along the roadway with a Bible in his hands. Villagers said he had a “peculiar look” on his face as he greeted persons with “Good Morning” in a calm manner.

According to reports, seconds later Kelly was heard using obscene language on the roadway. As he walked the road, eye witnesses said he flagged down a man driving a backhoe. It was at this point things changed for the worst.

“Up to now, I still can’t believe what happened. It all was so quick, and all I know I could have been dead today,” said the driver of the backhoe, Shiraz Massoom, 49. The terrified man told Newsday that he was on his way to a job site in the area when he saw Kelly along the roadway. “He had the Bible in one hand, and his other hand was out stopping me. I thought he was one of those people with the Bible who often stop you to pray with you because I saw him with the Bible. But it was like I stopped for a demon.” Massoom said.

Still in a state of shock he recalled that as the backhoe came to a stop Kelly held on to the door and “jumped inside”. Immediately Kelly began beating him repeatedly on the head with the Bible. “I could not even defend myself because I was so shocked. I was just praying and praying and shielding my head from the blows. But he began to cuff me on my head nonstop,” the emotional man said.

Massoom said the man shouted at him to leave the vehicle. “But as he kept telling me to get out he continued hitting me. I managed to crawl to the door on the other side, but as I crept to the end of the door I was just praying that he did not have a knife because my back was turned.” Massoom said. As he managed to exit the vehicle he fell to the ground. “I just got off the ground and began running. I don’t know where I was going, but I was running from him.” Massoon said.

Massoom was treated for injures to his head at the Chaguanas Health Facility. Another resident Asha Choon, 51, described the incident as a script out of a movie. “He looked at me and said “Good morning ma’am, How you doing? And he had the Bible in his hand when he walked off. Then is like he changed into another person. And began cursing.” Choon related.

The scared resident said she locked her gate and went into her house watching from the window. “I then saw Kelly in the backhoe and reversing into the Maye Hardware compound. Kelly crashed the vehicle into a glass office shattering several windows to pieces. He threw the Bible to the ground, and picked up a block of stone and threw it at the office window. He then began to chase after workers at the hardware with a 2x4 piece of wood.

“It was like everybody who was in the road was just running into their homes, and locking their gates behind them. I was so scared.” said another villager, Girlie Chunilal, in shock. Chunilal who owns the Goonus Bar/Mini mart said she saw Kelly with the piece of wood in his hand running after persons. “It was like he had gone mad and wanted to beat everybody in the village. I heard people screaming and running back inside their houses as I locked my door.” Chunilal said.

Mother of two, Sargeeta Mohanlal, 31, said she saw Kelly who was clad in a shorts and T-shirt at her back door. “At first I was inside I didn’t know what was happening. I heard a man’s voice talking to my children by the door.” Mohanlal said. She said he began to ask her for another child. He kept saying where my next child is, I have two children alone I did not know what he was talking about.” Mohanlal said. She said her children ages five and nine, clung on to her. “My children were frightened because there was a man with a long stick in front of us.”