Prior to opening fire on a group of people playing dominoes in Mahaica last night and injuring two, the shooter attempted to drive over one of the victims with his bus, an eyewitness said while recalling hiding as a hail of bullets rained.
What was supposed to be a normal Saturday night of playing dominoes with friends in Belmont, Mahaica quickly turned bloody after two men – 23-year-old Teron Gordon, a labourer, and 33-year-old Marlon Browne, a farmer, were both shot.
“It had about 15 of us here playing dominoes because that is what we does do on Saturday nights. The boys from the neighbourhood would come and a friend would bring a friend and we would play dominoes and Andrew [alleged perpetrator] come and Marlon didn’t want anything to do with him,” an eyewitness related to Stabroek News yesterday morning.
The man related that several times the perpetrator approached Browne to talk, who told him that he did not want to.
“If we had known that woulda happen we woulda leave but it had like 15 people out here and nobody associated with him and everybody went cold and nobody associated with him because none of them out here is he friends,” the man said, while stating that the shooter lives in the same area and is known for his constant notorious actions and disregard of the laws.
Despite not being able to entertain Browne in a conversation, Andrew kept “pestering” him and “following him wherever he went”.
However, despite the constant nagging and attempts by Andrew to get Browne’s attention, the eyewitness related that he remained calm throughout and continued with his business.
“Marlon [Browne] went to pee not too far from the shop, just over the road and he kept calling Marlon and Marlon seh ‘we ain’t deh pon what you deh on’ and try to go around he [Andrew] bus that he was in and he try to knock he down with the bus and even after that Marlon didn’t get angry he just seh ‘budday wha is you itation, is problems you want give people?’ and he keep walking and went back to the dominoes,” the man recalled.
After Browne returned to the game, Andrew reportedly left with his bus and returned about 10 minutes after. When he returned, he parked the bus further away from the area where the dominoes was being played and called out for Browne. Eventually Browne gave in and approached the man who questioned whether their friendship was over.
According to the eyewitness, Browne told him yes and subsequently walked away from him and returned to the dominoes table. Instead of sitting to play, he was standing next to Gordon, who was also waiting on his turn to play.
“He went back into his bus, collected something from inside, left the door open and walked towards them and then just started firing wild. I was in the shop and I duck and I hear about six or seven shots going on. From the moment the first shot fire everybody scattered,” the man said.
He explained that in a bid to find safety after the shots started raining, persons jumped into the nearby trenches and hid under anything they could’ve found, which resulted in wooden structures and other obstacles being kicked away and broken.
“…The rest is history. The thing happen so fast and them shots fired so fast. When he done he jump back in he bus and get away and we rush to Marlon and see that he was shot but it wasn’t [until] after then we realized Teron [Gordon] get shoot too. We run out to the road and we see a [police] patrol passing and we tell them and they help get them to the station and then to the hospital,” he added.
Gordon and Browne were rushed to the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital where the former was treated for a gunshot wound to the left side of his abdomen and left forearm, while the latter was treated for a gunshot wound to the left side of his chest.
Currently, Gordon is at the Georgetown Public Hospital and Browne is at the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital. Both are said to be in stable condition and recovering.
“The whole thing is unwarranted, brethren. It shows a total disregard for human life. It’s unwarranted,” the man said. Several other patrons of the shop who had returned to the scene also expressed similar sentiments.
The police are yet to apprehend the shooter, who is reportedly known around the area and does not live far from the Mahaica Police Station.
