Football fight ends in chopping of Stanleytown teen

Hospitalised: Seon Griffith
Hospitalised: Seon Griffith

A football game ended in bloodshed on Thursday evening after one of the players was brutally chopped about his body by another at the Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara (WBD) playfield.

Seon Griffith, an 18-year-old resident of Church Street, Stanleytown, was chopped to his hands, shoulder and neck after a fight with the fellow player, which occurred around 6.15pm.

He was rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital and was subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospi-tal, where he underwent emergency surgery.

Griffith’s condition was listed as stable up to yesterday.

A report was made to the police and an investigation has since been launched. Up to yesterday afternoon, Griffith’s assailant was not yet apprehended.

However, Sunday Stabroek understands that the father of the suspect was detained by the police yesterday morning after reports surfaced that he was attempting to fly his son to neighbouring Suriname.

Nadia Patterson, the injured teen’s mother, told Sunday Stabroek that Griffith and a group of boys from the community were playing football before the fight ensued between him and one of the other players.

“You know you playing football, you trigger one another. One get knock hard and he didn’t like it. He chuck my son (Griffith), my son chuck him back. They end up fighting. My son beat him and it had other people they were cranking him… one of them, I was made to understand, he was hollering ‘Wet him! Wet him! Brush him down to the ground!’” Patterson related.

The suspect then left for home and returned with a cutlass.

“…So the other guy (suspect) leave now and run home for his cutlass and chop him. While he pelt the first chop, my son bar and collect it and he pull the chopper out he hand and after it buss way he hand, my son fell to the ground,” Patterson added.

She said the suspect then allegedly stood over Griffith and dealt him a chop to his neck before escaping.

Patterson related that she had just returned home from work when a neighbour visited and informed her of the incident. She said by time she rushed to the scene, Griffith was already transported to the hospital.

Griffith recently sat the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination and was awaiting his results.