Three persons from Sand Hills, Berbice River have been taken into custody in connection with the shooting to death of 26-year-old Vivian Walker while police are also hunting for a suspect from Hofwerk.

Reports are that at around 9 pm on Wednesday Walker had gone to the home of a resident and was playing a game of cards with her and two other persons in the veranda when they heard a loud explosion.

At the same time Walker fell to the floor and started to bleed profusely. They immediately alerted neighbours and the village captain and upon checking they found that he had been hit by nine pellets to his chest.

This newspaper had spoken to a resident of Tacama, Berbice River by telephone on Thursday evening and he said that he had seen the body which appeared to have a gunshot wound at the back of his right shoulder.

The resident said he was passing the area yesterday in a boat when he heard that Walker was murdered. He said he saw the body “in a small house in the savannah” lying face up in a pool of blood.

The man added that a lot of people had gathered at the scene but no one was saying anything about how the murder occurred.

In a press statement, police had said that the force is investigating a report that Walker’s body was found in his home with suspected gunshot injuries.

Walker was facing charges of felonious wounding at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court. He had been placed on $100,000 bail but that amount was reduced to $50,000 at another hearing.

He was wanted by police for severely chopping 18-year-old Deon Denhart of Hofwerk, Berbice on his back and left hand on September 7. He turned himself in one week later to the village captain.

Denhart, who was a patient at the New Amsterdam Hospital for almost two months, had told this newspaper that he was afraid that he would not be able to use his hand again.

He had said that after he was chopped he took about eight and a half hours to get to the hospital where he was finally able to receive treatment.

Denhart had recounted to Stabroek News that the incident occurred when he confronted Walker over reports that he had stolen a belt and pants belonging to him. The two men fought and Denhart said his attacker swore revenge.

Later as Denhart was walking along a lonely road he felt a chop on his back. He tried to parry a blow with his hand and it was almost severed. He ran for his life and later sought medical treatment with the help of others.

His mother Lynette Denhart told Stabroek News “my son nearly died. He chopped him and left him like that…”