The police are currently investigating an accidental shooting that occurred on Monday night and resulted in two persons being injured.
According to a Guyana Police Force press release, 21-year-old Christopher Charles, of 34 Friendship, East Bank Demerara, and Esther Wiltshire, 20, of 711 Kaneville, East Bank Demerara, were both injured on Monday around 11.30 pm at Friendship Public Road.
Police said their investigations revealed that the two were injured while the police were responding to a report of an assault on a woman. The woman was allegedly being beaten and taken into a clump of bushes. When the police arrived, they met with the family members of the woman and began searching for her. However, after the search proved futile, the police left but were summoned once again about ten minutes later. They were informed that the woman had told her family that she was at a sandy area in Friendship, however, once again, a search for the woman came up empty handed.
The ranks were then approached by a man with information concerning a man wanted by the police for wounding him. As that report was being made, police said the wanted man, Charles, rode up on a bicycle and armed with a cutlass, advanced menacingly towards the informant. The man took cover behind a parked car, which prompted Charles to throw his bicycle at him. It missed the man and broke the windshield instead.
The informant then tried to run away but was still pursued by Charles even as the police ranks warned him to desist. He eventually turned back and approached the police, while still being armed with the cutlass. The ranks ordered Charles to drop the weapon but he did not and consequently, one of the ranks on the patrol, who was armed with a rifle, discharged a round in the air and ordered him drop the cutlass. The release said that after the round was discharged Charles dropped the cutlass but he did not stop approaching them and said, “You got to kill me.”
By this time, the family members arrived and one of them, Wiltshire, attempted to relieve the rank of the weapon but in doing so caused another round to be discharged, hitting Charles in right side hip. The discharge also injured the Wiltshire as the ejection port of the rifle pinched her right hand.
The police said that after the incident, Charles and Wiltshire were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital by the police patrol. Charles was admitted and underwent surgery while Wiltshire was treated and discharged. Wiltshire subsequently gave a statement to the police.
