The two Richard Ishmael Secondary security guards were absent from the compound on Wednesday morning when arsonists attacked the school.
Swift action by firemen saved the Woolford Avenue, Georgetown school from destruction shortly after 3am Wednesday. The attack was part of a pre-dawn wave of attacks during which the Supreme Court Registry was also targeted for arson and two police stations came under heavy gunfire.
Chandroutie Persaud, the school’s head teacher, told Stabroek News yesterday afternoon that hours after the incident the two guards were taken into police custody for questioning. However, it is not clear whether the guards were released.
Persaud said that about 60 percent of students turned out to school yesterday. Students, whose classrooms were damaged by the fire, have already been moved to other locations in the compound. The Ministry of Education, according to Persaud, has already committed to completing repairs at Richard Ishmael as soon as the relevant authorities have completed their investigations at the school.
The two security guards, she explained, were supposed to work from 11 pm Tuesday until 7 am Wednesday. However, Persaud said that persons who arrived at the school shortly after 3am reported that neither guard was present at the location after the alarm was raised about the school being on fire.
“I will not be able to say whether the two guards even showed up for work at their shift,” Persaud said. “The police told me that they didn’t see either guard when they arrived at the scene.”
The guards, according to the head teacher, are attached to Dino’s Security Service. The security firm, she said, is paid by the Ministry of Education to secure Richard Ishmael. Persaud indicated that the two guards will be replaced by the company but opined that the Richard Ishmael compound is “sprawling” and more security should be provided for the school.
There are three eight-hour shifts, she explained, and there is one guard during the day and early night shift but the 11pm to 7am shift has two guards. However, this is insufficient, she stressed.
“We can’t come up with no reason as to why were targeted,” she said. “Teachers turned out in their full numbers, students were informed about what had happened and things are slowly returning to normal.”
Meanwhile, efforts to contact Acting Fire Chief Marlon Gentle yesterday were futile.
Attempts were made at eight locations throughout the school compound to set its buildings on fire. Bottles, suspected to have been used by the perpetrators to transport kerosene, were also discovered throughout the school compound. Richard Ishmael teachers had expressed a belief that the aim was to completely destroy the school.
2 guards without a proper weapon…you know whats the worst thing about a surprise attack…..it’s the the surprise defense…Now imagine me waiting on these “arsonist” with a platoon of soldiers…hahaha guess the crime would be solved there and then….but I wouldn’t shoot them and kill then like the police would..
The guards were probably paid a lump sum to evacuate the area…that money is probably more than their salaries.
The Guyanese people have a right to know if it customary for the Government to pay for guard services at all schools. Or does this school reach special criteria?
bring them in now.
This school should now solicit some funds from its overseas past pupils associations, to help repair its damage and restore the pride of its students
Great idea.
Oh come on, where we supposed to get the money from? Just last night I had to go hang out with allumni from the university I graduated from here and have drinks and h’ordeurs for a fund raiser. Then the undergraduate college keep sending me appeals for donations. Now the high school? Where does this all end?
The gov’t should repair the school, after all the gov’t charges the Guyanese citizens a 16% VAT tax.
For whatever reason those guards should count themselves lucky. We don’t know with certainty what would have been their destiny had they been present.
They need to be investigated,,,This security firm must be held accountable …
Got that right Borapork. You got to save yourself.
Maybe they knew what was about to happen…
The terrorists and the big boys telling them wha to do can’t read and write so they want bun up a school. Unfortunately, when the cock up on the road or garbage dump dead like they eventually will and feeling the pain , they will have had no chance to finally learn…..
What do you expect these guard to do in the face of this fire power? Add to the body count, I think not.
The nature of a beast….why would someone want to burn down a school?Only retards would think that way.
Missing guards……
“why would someone want to burn down a school?” evil people would burn down a school also, to instill fear and blame other persons.
So not only retards, intelligent people will do that also.
ok goingander put it this way… ‘the lack of intellectual acuity’ NOTE, intelligence is still present.
It is what the school represents Witch. I say it again, that the forces that created mayhem over the last few years, just did not disappear or were eliminated by Fineman’s death. From all ends, I believe they walk amongst the populace and, are reactivated at specific moments. There are a group of indivduals , I believe, who are hellbent on maintaing the status quo in that sorry country because, it suits their purpose of power, authority and the accumulation of wealth , even from nefarious activities. It is like a government within the government. The PPP must be the only government to rule Guyana and , henceforth, its supporters must own the country.
The sad part of all of this is that sooner or later this group will realize that it is not only the force, but the ‘brain’ and will eventually transform and take complete control of that sorry country. Maybe it has already happened.
Now i bet these two guards are going to be suspects in the attack on the school because they never showed up for work that night.
Now some guards report for work with mattrass, netting, mosquito coil and a flask.
This group probably reported, saw everything was ok and returned home to return at 6 am.
Who would not need a nice peaceful sleep?
At home, in bed. Perhaps they did the right thing or they might have ended up dead, for all you know.
Johnander before i migrated to the u.s i use to work for a security firm in linden and i used to be stationed in watooka day school and when the night comes i used to go home by me girl and chill and come back later, one friday night on my way out i buck up with the supervisor and he seh webster what you doing hay and i tell he i did hungry and i going to get some food and come back, he told me you betta be there when i come for inspection, boy that was the good ol days.
Do the guards still get paid in a situation like this?
If they do, maybe they knew about the attack.
If they dont,then maybe they just was late for their shifts.
But if one was late, would be ok but two?
Make u wonder, did they know about the attack?