A man is now dead and three others are injured after gunmen opened fire at a bar in Albouystown early yesterday morning.
Senassie Lewis, 22, of Pineapple Street, East Ruimveldt, was at a dance at the Ghetto Flex bar, at James and Albouys Street, Albouystown when two gunmen walked up to the crowd and opened fire.
Lewis is believed to have been the intended target of the attack, which occurred at around 3am. He was hit multiple times in the barrage of gunfire.
Police said Kurt Francis, 16, of Princes Street, Jonathan De Freitas, 20, of Diamond Housing Scheme, and Jamal Bascom, 23, of Indepen-dence Boulevard, were each shot once in the attack.
Lewis was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospi-tal but he was pronounced dead, while the three others were admitted. By yesterday afternoon De Freitas and Francis were discharged from the hospital because their wounds were minor, while Bascom remained hospitalised with a bullet still lodged in his left leg. The bullet also hit his genitals.
Bascom said he is visiting from the United States of America and has only been in the country for about two months.
He told Stabroek News that while he was standing at the dance, he heard several loud bangs and felt a burning sensation around his leg, after which he ran towards the bar and hid. He heard several more gunshots and saw people screaming and running for cover, he added.
According to an eyewitness, two men walked up to the crowd of people where Lewis was standing and opened fired on him. After they fired about 14 shots and saw his body drop to the ground, they ran towards a white car and escaped.
This newspaper was told that based on how the attack was carried out, it seemed as if it was intended to be an execution.
Lewis was said to be known to the police and residents.
One resident explained that Lewis was a known member of a gang in East Ruimveldt and currently there is a gang war going on.
Meanwhile, police sources confirmed that two men are currently being pursued in connection with the murder.
It is unclear why the bar was still open at least an hour past the current 2am curfew that was recently put in place by the Public Security Ministry in response to an apparent spike in criminal attacks.
