Only one of the three men shot in Independence Boulevard, Albouystown last Saturday night, remains hospitalised and one of the victims believes the shooting stems from a fatal shooting in the same yard.
Police had indicated that the three men, 18-year-old Sherwin Bobb, who remains hospitalised in a critical condition; Seon Ross and Hamilton Dickerson were shot allegedly by Shane Bourne, 26, and Ryan Goodluck, 29.
Recounting the incident, Dickerson yesterday told Stabroek News that he had earlier seen the suspect while sitting outside with his family along Independence Boulevard. He recalled that the suspect was the pillion rider on a motorcycle and was carrying a firearm in his hand. The motorcycle stopped and parked one house away from where he sat with his family, Dickerson said. At the time, the suspect posed no threat to him, he added, since he was clueless as to why he had a gun. He said the man was just an acquaintance.
Dickerson said the suspect then walked past him and his family and headed towards the gate as if he was searching for someone. Becoming suspicious, Dickerson said, his wife asked the suspect who he was in search of. Seemingly aggravated at the question, the man said, the suspect responded: ‘Long you like talk girl, you need to shut your mouth’, pointed the firearm in her direction and discharged two rounds. Neither hit her and she ran to safety along the Boulevard.
Meanwhile, Dickerson said, he snatched his three-year-old daughter who had been standing a few feet away from her mother. He said his wife then hid behind him in fear as he questioned the man about his actions. However, the suspect discharged another round hitting him once to the lower left side leg.
Threatening to kill everyone in the vicinity, the suspect discharged several more rounds hitting Bobb in the jaw and Ross in the groin, Dickerson said.
The man said he believed the incident stemmed from an old grievance where one of the suspect’s associates was shot right there by someone who had resided in the same yard. However, that person was arrested and remanded to prison months ago, he said.
Dickerson, who is a construction worker, explained that as a result of the incident he was unable to work. He emphasised that the police acted swiftly and were on scene two minutes after the shooting. CCTV cameras were utilised to apprehend the suspect.
The police had said in a press release that the victims had congregated on the avenue when the perpetrators who are known to them came through a cross street riding a motorcycle, CM 6629. They parked the motorcycle about fifty metres from where the victims were and the pillion rider dismounted and headed in the victims’ direction with a handgun in his hand. He was confronted by a relative of the victims who admonished him for brandishing a firearm the way he did and there was an exchange of words between the two, during which the pillion rider threatened to kill everyone who had congregated at that spot on the avenue, as revenge for an old grievance where one of his associates was shot in early 2023.
The pillion rider then pointed the firearm in the victims’ direction and fired multiple shots indiscriminately. He then ran back to the motorcycle, mounted it, and both he and the rider escaped in a westerly direction, police said.
The perpetrators were traced to Vlissengen Road and mobile patrols cordoned off the area, prompting them to abandon the motorcycle and run into the Guyana Chronicle compound where they were both apprehended. The compound was searched but the firearm was not found.
The suspects were then transported to CID Headquarters after which they were taken to the Ruimveldt Police Station along with the motorcycle. They were placed in custody and the motorcycle was lodged. When investigators visited the scene, two suspected .32 spent shells were found, the release said.
