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Police probe bar
massacre, other killing
Eyewitnesses described the latter attack as probably the most brutal since the escalation of high-profile criminal activities, including execution-style murders, in recent times.
Police
in a statement yesterday said the first incident occurred at Craig
Street, Campbellville at 18:35 hrs. when Delroy Gomes, a 19-year-old
businessman, was gunned down in front of his home by bandits in a
burgundy-coloured motorcar. The
second incident occurred about 18:45 hrs. at a popular liquour
restaurant at Pike and Lamaha Streets, Kitty where four persons were
shot dead and at least 10 others, including the Director of Public
Prosecution, Mr. Denis Hanomansingh, were wounded. According to the Police, four gunmen emerged from a car and opened fire on the patrons in the shop, leaving popular national race-car driver Gavin Narine, 42; businessman Lloyd Singh, 48; Singh's sister, Joy Arjune, 38; and Fazeer Baksh, 20, dead.
Wounded
Hanomansingh, who was
shot in the shoulder Wounded
were Hanomansingh, who was shot in the
shoulder, and Mr. Beharry
Dookie, also known as 'Nathoo', proprietor of the business place.
They were both treated at a city hospital and sent home. Among
those also wounded were Mr. Deon Clarke, Assistant Commissioner of
Police Kenneth Barran and Senior Superintendent Balram
Persaud. Unconfirmed
reports indicated that Narine was celebrating his birthday at Nathoo's
with friends shortly before 19:00 hrs. when the four gunmen sprayed the
place with bullets. Arjune
of 106 Thomas Street, Kitty and a former Manager at the Guyana Telephone
and Telegraph Company (GT&T), was not a frequent visitor to the
business place and had just gone there last night "to have a
drink" She
was reportedly invited over to Nathoo's by her brother, Lloyd. According
to a relative of the deceased, Lloyd called his younger sister on the
telephone around 18:20 hrs and invited her over to the shop for a drink.
She immediately left, telling her 14-year-old daughter, Michelle, who
was at home with her at the time, that she will be back in an hour's
time. It
is understood that Joy's husband was in the interior and he has since
been contacted by the family and informed of the tragic news. Joy also
has another daughter, 16-year-old Veronique. The
siblings' grandmother, Sarah Singh, 84, said that Lloyd and Joy and her
other grandchildren were all decent and law-abiding citizens. Their
mother, 67-year-old Bibi Singh, could not control her tears yesterday as
she recalled to the Chronicle how wonderful and loving her kids were to
her. She
noted that she had seven daughters and one son and Lloyd was her third
child, while Joy was her last. The ailing woman, who lives alone in a small and modest home at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, said that of all her children, Lloyd was the one who checked her out regularly, almost daily, to make sure she was okay.
FAMILY
PORTRAIT: Lloyd Singh, his wife
Wanda and two children Lolda, 12, and Vidal, 9. With
tears streaming down her face, the woman recalled that on Wednesday
morning Lloyd visited her and gave her money and kissed her on her
cheeks. "He
does mind me because I'm a stroke case and is he looking after me and I
ain't know how he and he sister can meet in this dilemna," she
lamented. It
is understood that Lloyd's wife, Wanda Hercules, and their two children,
Lolda, 12, and Vidal, nine, recently went to the United States to reside
due to the current situation in the country. Bibi said her son went to the U.S. about two weeks ago to be with his family, but despite them persuading him to stay with them over there, he decided to return home to look after her (Bibi) and the fishing business.
Wanda and the two kids were expected to arrive in Guyana sometime yesterday.
MOURNING:
mother of Lloyd and Joy, Ms.
Bibi Singh. According
to Bibi, her daughter-in-law decided to migrate because "she
frighten to pass Buxton". When
the Chronicle arrived on the scene on Wednesday night, a huge crowd had
already gathered at the bar. There
was blood almost everywhere inside the bar - on the tiled floor, on
chairs and on the walls. According to reports, the dead and wounded were among several persons who were socialising at the time in the bar when the gunmen made their entry, opened fire with their sub-machine and AK-47 assault rifles, and left.
The
dead and wounded were subsequently transported to hospitals by ambulance
and private vehicles. As
news of the shooting spread, friends and relatives of the dead and
wounded and some Government officials hurriedly made their way to the
bar and later to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where the
dead persons and most of the wounded were taken. Persons
identified as being on the scene during the shooting, including a
barman, were visibly shaken and tight-lipped. One
man said that after the shooting he saw "bodies lying everywhere
and blood all over them. It look like if was about 15 people lying down
there." The
shootings at Nathoo's were preceded by the fatal shooting of Gomes by
two men toting machine guns and travelling in a burgundy car. Reports
said the men pulled up at the house and asked for the young man's father
who is known as `Zapper', but he was not at home. Gomes
went outside to speak with the men and according to reports, they were
seen questioning and manhandling him before opening fire and escaping. He
was reportedly shot five times. A top police officer yesterday said investigations were continuing but there were still no leads regarding Wednesday's brutal shooting spree.
Friday, September 27, 2002
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