The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has reminded licensed firearm holders that safeguarding their weapons when not in use is a priority, while warning that those found in breach of any firearm safety rules would have their weapons revoked.
The reminder from the police came just days after a teenager was fatally wounded with a licensed firearm.
In a statement issued on Friday, Guyana Police Force spokesman Assistant Commissioner Royston Andries-Junor said upon being granted a firearm licence, applicants are required to comply with the condition that they establish a “safe and secure” storage facility to keep the firearm and ammunition whenever they are not in use.
He said that firearm licences contain a number of stipulated rules as it relates to safety, including that the weapons are “always” to be kept out of the reach of children.
“Licensed Firearm Holders are cautioned that the neglectful breach of one or more specific firearm safety rules, spelt out on the firearm licence, may lead to the revocation of the firearm licence,” the force warned.
There have been two recent cases where teenagers were fatally wounded with the use of licensed firearms.
On October 28th, fifteen-year-old Ahren Singh, the son of the presidential candidate for The Citizens’ Initiative, Rondha-Ann Lam, committed suicide by shooting himself.
Singh used his father’s licensed firearm to commit the act.
In that case, the teen’s father had left home for work, leaving his licensed firearm, a pistol, on top of a built in closet in his bedroom.
Earlier this week, another teenager, Rockey Sawh, succumbed at a city hospital, hours after he was allegedly accidentally shot in his head by one of his friends during a sleepover in Kitty.
He, too, was shot to his head.
The 17-year-old suspect reportedly accessed his father’s licensed firearm by breaching the lock of a wardrobe where it was stored.
