Dear Editor,
Six weeks ago Dr Brian O’Toole, who set up the very successful School of the Nations in Georgetown, Guyana was shot outside his house. He is currently in New York receiving treatment for his paralysed left arm. He may lose much of the use of that even after four operations.
It looks like he was shot by a former student high on images from the video game ‘Fortnite’. His attacker did the Fortnite victory dance after shooting him. To date, nobody has been arrested for this crime
Dr O’Toole, a graduate of Strathclyde University and his wife, Pamela, both from Shawlands, Glasgow, left Scotland forty two years ago to live in Guyana, South America. Over the course of the four decades they developed Nations, a college and school in Guyana, that now has almost 4,000 students with partnerships with the universities of London, Cambridge and Bedfordshire in higher education. Dr O’Toole was recently awarded the MBE for services to education in Guyana, in the UK New Year Honours list and months earlier he was given the highest national award from the Government of Guyana.
About 10 weeks ago, the School of the Nations expelled a young man for dealing in drugs which has become a major challenge in the schools in Guyana. The matter was carefully investigated and presented to the young man. He was asked to wait to discuss the matter with his father along with the Directors – he chose however to leave before his father’s arrival. The matter was then shared with the police.
On Thursday 24th January, 2019 a second student was expelled for posting on social media that a ‘Glock has 16 rounds – don’t come to school on Friday’. When challenged, he claimed it was ‘just a joke’. He too was expelled. Later a small group of students claimed that the young man should be given ‘a second chance.’ The moderate dissatisfaction they expressed in social media was seized upon by a former School of the Nations student, who writing from Florida on social media took a far more dangerous approach – threatening to throw chemicals on children’s skin which would cause the skin to melt off. He also threatened to blow up the school and posted stock pictures from the internet of chemicals, guns and explosives. Later he posted on social media a request for protection and offered to collaborate with police in return for protection and ‘immunity’. According to the Guyana Police Report quoted in a Guyanese newspaper, those posts were traced to a person (named in the report) in Florida who admitted to them. He left Nations a number of years ago to live in USA.
The School of the Nations took the threats seriously and contacted the Police. On Jan 27th a meeting of 400 members of the school community was held to discuss the threats and to chart a way forward to meet the threats. At 10 pm that day Dr O’Toole was shot as he tried to enter the door of his home in a Georgetown suburb. The assailant fired three times, a shot entered each of Dr O’Toole’ arms. One severed an artery and shattered the bone in his left arm. The assailant fled – robbery was clearly not the motive. Whether or not Dr O’Toole can identify the gunman is now, of course, a matter between him and the Guyana police.
After shooting Dr O’Toole, the assailant did a bizarre and ritualistic dance. Later when shown footage of the dark video game, ‘Fortnite’, Dr O’Toole identified the macabre dance from that game that ‘gamers’ are expected to perform after shooting someone.
Dr O’Toole was later sent media coverage from the Daily Telegraph in the UK addressing the dangers of this ‘game.’ Educational authorities across the UK are outlining the real dangers of ‘Fortnite’ that clouds reality and fantasy and is already leading to alarming consequences in many parts of the world. The UK newspaper article cited very real concerns about this particular video game.
It was then said in social media that the FBI was contacted and investigated the Florida leads – no report was however shared in Guyana as to the truth of these reports. Indeed, there has been no official statement from the Guyana Police Force as we now enter the seventh week after the shooting.
Dr O’Toole said, “our frustration is that we have heard nothing officially from the police.it may be that more is being done than appears to be the case but surely the communication could be better.”
It was further shared on social media that the ‘investigation’ led to a group of young people who are alleged to be very well connected politically and at the highest level of the police within the country. Nothing has been done to refute these allegations – thereby fueling the rumour mill that has surrounded the shooting.
Dr O’Toole CCH, MBE is still in hospital in New York City. He plans to return to Guyana and his life’s work in education there very soon
Yours faithfully,
John Mair
