A Hadfield Street businessman was riddled with bullets last night while in his vehicle on Regent Street, Georgetown, in an execution-style attack in which another man was wounded.
The shooting occurred around 10.20 pm in front of Shamdas Kirpalani near Camp Street.
Guyana Police Force spokesman Stan Gouveia identified the deceased as Euclide Da Silva, 51, of 23 Hadfield Street. The wounded man, who was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital for treatment, remained unidentified up to press time.
Da Silva and the other man were both in his vehicle, a black Tacoma pick-up, when they came under heavy gunfire.
The Guyana Police Force this morning said the attack was carried out by two unidentified men, who used long guns to fire on Da Silva and his companion.
According to the police, the gunmen arrived at the scene in a white car, with an “HB number plate” and parked about 15 feet behind Da Silva’s vehicle.
“The two suspects exited the car, both armed with long guns, and discharged several rounds at the Tacoma before rejoining their transportation and making good their escape east on Regent Street,” the police said.
Da Silva was found in a seated position in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, while his companion, who remained unidentified, was seen on the right front passenger seat with wounds to his face, right arm and chest.
According to the police, Da Silva appeared to have been shot nine times.
His companion, whose condition is listed as critical, was this morning said to be undergoing surgery at the Georgetown Hospital.
Up to press time this morning, crime scene investigators and other police ranks were processing the scene. Subsequent to the shooting dozens of persons congregated to find out what had transpired.
Security guards at nearby businesses said that they were inside of their respective compounds and only came out after the gunshots abated.
At the scene, persons known to Da Silva said he was seen on the seawall seeking to purchase food a short while before his death.
Da Silva’s family, who arrived at the scene later, declined to comment as they expressed shock and disbelief.
Police Commander of Region 4 ‘A’ Simon Mc Bean, who was present, told Stabroek News that around 10.30 pm police were informed of the shooting on Regent Street, between Camp and Wellington streets, and ranks immediately responded.
The vehicle, bearing registration number GTT 3257, was found riddled with bullet holes and two men were found inside. Mc Bean explained that Da Silva was pronounced dead on the scene by Emergency Medical Technicians and the other was rushed to the hospital.
He stated that subsequent to the receiving reports of the shooting, he ordered roadblocks erected across the city, the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara and requested the same be done on the West Demerara.
Back in 2010, Da Silva, who was listed as a Brazilian fugitive by Interpol, was arrested by local law enforcement here and handed over to authorities in the neighbouring country.
In July 2010, the man was held by local police for allegedly forging a Guyanese birth certificate on which he purported to show that he was born here.
The man operated a business in the city and at the time of his arrest a move was made in the courts to have his deportation blocked after his true identity was determined.
In 2012, he was arrested for illegal entry as well as obtaining a Guyanese passport on a forged birth certificate.
Da Silva, who also goes by the names Euclides Erian Da Silva or Euclid Saigo, was said to have escaped from a maximum-security prison in Boa Vista in late July 2012 along with several other persons during a prison break. He had been serving time in the prison across the border from Lethem for drug trafficking and money laundering
He was described as one of Brazil’s most wanted high profile fugitives, Da Silva escaped the Brazilian security forces several years ago after being jailed in 1998 on drug trafficking and money laundering charges.
After his first escape, he reportedly spent almost a decade here and established a business in the city.
