Two French Guiana natives have been arrested in connection with the execution-style killing of a 29-year-old Guyanese man in that country on Saturday and charges are to be laid shortly.

Joseph ‘Obrien’ Mc Aulay

A Stabroek News source in the French territory said yesterday that Joseph ‘Obrien’ Mc Aulay was shot and around 6 o’clock (5 am local time) in Balata which is located in a small town called Matoury in the capital Cayenne.

According to the source, Balata is known for its large population of illegal Guyanese immigrants.
Mc Aulay who was the rider of a motor scooter was the victim of a drive-by shooting, the circumstances of which are unclear but he died around 1 pm (12 pm local time) at the Cayenne Hospital from a gunshot wound to the chest, the source stated.

At the time of the incident which occurred during a street jam and not at a night club as Stabroek News had first reported, there was a pillion rider on the scooter who ran away, but he subsequently went to the police and a statement was given. The incident apparently stemmed from an earlier incident during which Mc Aulay was punched. The source did not say what that incident was about, or if the two suspects were involved.

According to the source, the two men were arrested on Wednesday and appeared before a judge yesterday afternoon in accordance with the country’s legal system, after spending the night at the police station.
They have not yet been charged, but when they are, the source said, that will determine whether they will be remanded to prison or placed on bail.

Meanwhile, this newspaper has been informed that French police are looking for two men who may be of Guyanese origin, who shot and robbed a Chinese shopkeeper on Wednesday night in Balata.
McAulay hailed from Victoria, East Coast Demerara but had been living in French Guiana for some six years working as a painter.

The man’s relatives including his mother Jocelyn Daley had told this newspaper, hours after the incident, that he died innocently and that he was merely trying to make peace after a fight broke out.
They had been told that the incident occurred outside a night club and that the fight occurred inside. According to them, the gunman were in a car. It was one of McAulay’s friends in Guyana who telephoned his mother shortly after he had been shot.

The man left Guyana six years ago for the French territory seeking a better life, leaving his mother and two younger brothers behind.