A prominent citizen is calling on members of the Guyana Police Force to look into the number of firearm licences that are handed to the young children of rich businesspeople here who he described as `baby phantoms’.
His warning came after one of his close relatives was beaten outside a city nightclub on Friday by members of this group during which a gun was believed to have been used. The phantom reference pertains to a shadowy group of gunmen who participated in fighting criminals and are suspected in a string of murders and bloody attacks.
The prominent citizen who wishes to remain anonymous told Stabroek News yesterday that several rival groups are developing and the police force needs to put a stop to them urgently.
He stated that these groups gain popularity by beating up people and he is pleading with the parents of these individuals to take the situation into their own hands since in the New Year things could get out of hand.
The man said that these gang members are in their late teens. “This is tragedy for this country and there must be some security at these night spots”.
He is of the opinion that these young men believe that because they have money they can do anything and get away with it.
The man said that these parents are just too busy making money or running from the police.
He regards this developing situation as a serious one. “We have to defuse it now before it gets bigger. If they become more organized it will become Wild West here. I want to see these kids turned around.
The victim, who is nineteen-year-old, stated that the whole incident started because he was chatting with a girl in the nightclub. This caused the girl and her boyfriend who was also in the club to start quarrelling and later a physical confrontation developed between them.
The young man who said he is not afraid of members of the gang said that he parted the fight and was later taken outside.
While talking to some friends outside, one of the gang members who had problems with him in the past came up to him, pulled a shiny object from his pocket and hit him across the ear.
The teenager said that he does not know for certain whether the object, which fitted into the palm of the attacker’s hand, was a gun.
From this point on others pounced on him and started to beat him up. When one of his friends tried to help, the group turned on him too.
Realizing that this was not a battle that could be won, the two young men managed to get away and jump into their vehicle. The young man told this newspaper that the group was following them but they managed to escape. He said that he believes that there could be a recurrence
A report has since been made at the Alberttown Police Station but ranks have not contacted the young man or his relatives.
