Guyanese Joseph McAulay was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in French Guiana early yesterday morning minutes after exiting a nightclub where he was reportedly mixed up in a brawl.
Unconfirmed reports from French Guiana stated that gunman was known to McAulay and that he has local ties. McAulay, 29, hails from Victoria, East Coast Demerara but had been living in French Guiana for some six years working as a painter.
McAulay’s relatives said he died innocently and recounted yesterday how he was merely making peace in the nightclub after the fight broke out.
But the dead man’s mother, Jocelyn Daley frankly stated that she does not have all the facts and that the details surrounding what happened in the nightclub vary, since one report said that her son might have been embroiled in the brawl.
“I don’t know what to say other that I know my son and believe that he was making peace,” Daley told Stabroek News while shaking her head. She last spoke with her son on Tuesday and during that conversation he had asked her to pray for him. According to her, she had said a prayer then and early yesterday morning before she learnt what had happened to him.
It was some time after 5 am (6 am local time) when McAulay also known as ‘Obrien’ had exited the nightclub and was making his way home on a motorcycle in the company of a friend. A car subsequently pulled up alongside the two men and a man leaned out and shot McAulay in the chest. The car then sped off.
McAulay was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance immediately after he was shot.
According to reports, he suffered massive internal injuries and died while receiving treatment. His mother received a call just after 1 pm informing her of his death.
“I went numb when this call came and struggled to keep it together. I knew he was hurt because someone called earlier but I couldn’t believe it,” Daley recounted.
One of McAulay’s friends in Guyana telephoned his mother shortly after he had been shot.
She later spoke with his foster father who also resides in French Guiana and remained in contact until news of his death reached her.
Six years ago McAulay left for French Guiana seeking a better life, leaving his mother and two younger brothers behind.
He never returned to Guyana but had invited his mother over and two years ago she went to see him. It was an emotional reunion, according to Daley, who recounted that she had asked her son to return home but he declined.
The woman said she did not like the place and that she had articulated as much to McAulay. However, be brushed it aside and though he had promised to visit Guyana after she returned home he never did.
She said McAulay loved French Guiana and that his heart must have been with the country for him not to return home.
Daley plans to travel to French Guiana and bury her eldest son since she believes the cost of bringing his body home would be a financial strain. She said that his two younger brothers might likely make the trip with her.
McAulay’s death was on the lips of many in Victoria, and those who knew him personally spoke of how he would reach out to others. One friend said that McAulay remained too long in French Guiana, adding that they had never expected him to take up permanent residence over there.
Three weeks ago another Guyanese, Troy James, was shot and killed in French Guiana reportedly by a sibling following a disagreement.
