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The Ministry of Education has taken the initiative of re-registering form five Arima North Secondary student Zwade Alleyne to complete his Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations in May/ June 2026, at no additional cost to his family.
The 17-year-old Alleyne was shot in his head while he limed with friends outside of his Building 12 apartment in Maloney on Saturday night, by an unidentified gunman who fired into the crowd. The bullet entered above the ear of the teenaged footballer and exited through the back of his head.
Arima North won 2-1.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Arima Aracauns.
He is in critical but stable condition at the Mt Hope General Hospital where doctors are trying to reduce swelling around his brain, to get a better view of the potential damage.
The Ministry of Education, now led by Minister Dr Michael Dowlath, today vowed to re-register Alleyne for exams and also offered “psychosocial support” to his schoolmates and school staff, through its Student Support Services Division.
“This act of violence against one of our nation’s youth is deeply troubling and wholly unacceptable,” said Dowlath, via a media release. “Our prayers are with Zwade and his family during this extremely difficult time.”
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Arima Araucans.
Police recovered 15 spent 9mm shell casings at the scene. Up to the time of publication, there were no arrests related to the incident.
Family members are hopeful of a full recovery and ask well-wishers to hold him up in their prayers.
Alleyne is a talented footballer who represented the Dial Dynamos between 2022-24 at Under-14, Under-16, and Senior Division.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Arima Araucans.
He also made two appearances for Arima North in the 2023 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Intercol competition, as a 15-year-old, and was an unused substitute when Arima North defeated San Juan North Secondary to claim the East Zone Intercol title.
Alleyne, a versatile player who could operate in midfield or as a full back, was a member of the Trinidad and Tobago National Under-17 team training pool in 2024.
He was a semifinalist in the Republic Bank National Youth Football League (RBNYFL) Under-16 division with FC Ginga in 2024 and a quarterfinalist in the 2025 RBNYFL Under-17 competition with Maloney Real Footballers Academy.
Alleyne and Dyer are both schoolmates at Arima North Secondary.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Arima Araucans Academy.
He also helped FC Ginga to the inaugural 2024 NLCL Under-15 Community Cup title.
Alleyne’s shooting was the second jolt for the Arima North football programme in a matter of weeks, after former student Ezekiel Ramdialsingh was murdered in La Horquetta on 15 April.
Ramdialsingh, also 17, won 2023 East Zone Under-16 League and Knock Out titles alongside Alleyne and was also a member of Arima North’s successful 2023 East Zone Intercol campaign.
Midfielder Zwade Alleyne (top, second from left) and defender Ezekiel Ramdialsingh (bottom, third from right) both helped their school claim the trophy with a 2-1 win over Holy Cross College.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Arima Araucans.
Arima North Secondary technical director and head coach Wayne Sheppard thanked the Ministry of Education for its gesture, which eliminates one potential concern for Alleyne’s mother, Keisha Bethelmy.
He urged stakeholders to do more to help young men in at-risk communities.
“The football programme at Arima North aims to help youths by getting them to focus their time and energies on something meaningful,” Sheppard told Wired868. “Team sport teaches you discipline and how to work in a group and interact positively with authority, and these are all things that you can apply in any part of your life. It teaches you the importance of doing the right things consistently to get rewards in the end.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Arima Araucans Academy.
“The aim of our programme was to bring those things to boys who did not otherwise have it. And for boys who do understand those concepts, we are creating an additional environment to reinforce it and have them enhance those characteristics and attributes over and over and over.”
Sheppard, who is also head coach at QPCC in the TTPFL Tier Two competition and co-founder of the Arima Araucans Academy, suggested that the nation would be better served if the government supported groups who are already at work in underprivileged communities.
“We have a number of boys growing up in areas where things like this happen far too frequently,” said Sheppard. “The government has to listen to people who operate in these areas to hear what and how they could help—so these young men can have a meaningful future which can add to their communities and the country.
Gomez also plays for Sheppard at QPCC in the TTPFL Tier 2 at present.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868.
“This is just one individual. We need the MPs of such communities and the officials in Youth Affairs and Sport and Education to talk to people like us who are operating in these areas and listen to our suggestions which can benefit everyone from these areas.”
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Lasana Liburd is the managing director and chief editor at Wired868.com and a journalist with over 20 years experience at several Trinidad and Tobago and international publications including Play the Game, World Soccer, UK Guardian and the Trinidad Express.
