Barely three weeks after the slaughter in Lusignan, yet another massacre was carried out last night in Bartica, with reports of a dozen people being murdered.
The Stabroek News reports:
Gunmen last night slaughtered around a dozen persons in a major assault on Bartica reminiscent of the Lusignan massacre and the dead included at least three policemen, reports this morning said.
The hour-long strafing which saw the criminals overrunning the Bartica Police Station and residents locking up in their homes raises major questions about the aims of the gunmen and the ability of the security forces to respond.
While it was difficult to obtain precise information on the chaos that ensued, Stabroek News has been able to confirm as best as possible the names of some of the dead. They are: Edwin Gilkes of Banks DIH/Citizens Bank's premises on First Avenue; Mervin Ferreira, a guard of CBR Mining and Marcus Gonsalves, a teller of Citizen's Bank whose body was found in his car on First Avenue. The surnames of the dead policemen have been given as Osbourne, Zakir and Fredericks.
Also among the dead are five persons who had slung up their hammocks on the wharf reportedly awaiting transportation to go about their business. They were gunned down in the wild firing that occurred as terror gripped the gateway to the interior. The five are believed to be employees of Budhoo's General Store. Two policemen and several other injured persons were to be transported this morning to the Georgetown Hospital via Baganara.
Commander of E&F Division, Gavin Primo told reporters last night that his information at the time was that sometime around 9:40 pm gunmen stormed the police station located at First Avenue, Bartica. At around 10:45 pm when he was contacted, Primo said that the gunmen had by then moved down several streets and were shooting indiscriminately.
To be honest, I'm just reporting this. I have no words. I don't know what to think. Guyana has been getting more violent in recent years but this is unprecedented. This is Jamaican-style murder - but worse. In my three years in JA, I never heard of a dozen people being killed. And it's just so random. There is no kind of logic, not even by standards of criminal logic.
It's not even like the gunmen were attacking a rival group and people got caught in the crossfire or like they were attacking a rival neighbourhood in vengeance for something or the other. It seems like the sole aim is just to spread terror of random violence.
I'm only presuming that this too is the work of Rondell 'Fineman' Rawlins who has vowed to wreak terror on Guyana until his kidnapped pregnant girlfriend is found. But... why not at least attack those you think are responsible? Why attack completely innocent, random passers-by? This is just blowing my mind.
What is Guyana going to do?
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