THE family of the female police officer who was shot outside her Caroni home on October 22, hours after returning from performing with the TT Police Service band in the US, is urging the public to pray for her.

Quianna Mahabir, 30, was shot multiple times while seated in a car with a friend outside her home on Hydraulic Road, Kelly Village.

Her family spoke with journalists outside the Adult Emergency Ward of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope after her surgery. They said they are praying for her recovery.

A relative said while social media is "blowing up" with the news, they “just want to continue praying and see her walk out of here.”

The relative said the family appreciates the good wishes and prayers and are focused on her recovery.

Two representatives for Mahabir’s family updated the public in a video posted to Facebook. They said she was stable and urged the public to pray for her.

“We are asking everyone let us join in prayer…Let us stand as a family and in Christ and pray for our sister in Jesus’s name.

“Cover the family in prayer and all the doctors who are working on her. We thank you for all the calls and the prayers, and we know you are standing with us and believing in God’s greatness on Quianna’s behalf.”

ROBBERY GONE AWRY

Investigators are working on the theory Mahabir was followed home from Piarco International Airport and was the victim of a robbery gone wrong.

Mahabir was about to drive into her yard with the female friend at around 1.35 am.

She was waiting for the front gate of the compound to open, when a car stopped nearby and two suspects, one armed with a gun, got out and approached them. One of the men tried to open her door, but it was locked.

When Mahabir refused to open the door, the gunman shot her through the glass before getting into the car and speeding away.

Mahabir was shot in her right breast, right hand and twice in her head.

A bullet remains lodged in her stomach while one of the bullets to her upper head exited through her mouth.

Her friend was not injured and drove Mahabir to the hospital.

Police Welfare Association president Gideon Dickson, who visited Mahabir and her family, described her as a fighter.

“From all indicators, she is fighting. She is under heavy sedation, and they are looking to see if they can get down the swelling, if any nerves or anything would have been affected in the area of her upper body. Additionally, the bullet lodged in (the) stomach area is not life-threatening, so they will be treating with that at some point in time as well.”

Dickson said he hopes the perpetrators are caught soon.

“I am certain that sufficient CCTV footage could have been picked up from the airport straight to where she resides, and we should be making a big dent in this investigation in very short order. We ought not to leave anything undone.

[caption id="attachment_1116275" align="alignnone" width="1024"] PASSION FOR DRUMS: WPC Quianna Mahabir, a member of the Police Service band, is seen here in this 2021 file photo,