By Svetlana Marshall

AN early morning brawl between two men at the Stabroek Market Square on Monday ended on a bloody note when one was stabbed to death.According to reports, the men, who did odd jobs for a living, were engaged in a heated argument, which soon turned into a fight. During the scuffle, one of them pulled out a sharp object and dealt the other a blow to his abdomen. The incident occurred at about 07:00h.

The murder suspect

After committing the act, the suspect attempted to escape, but was pursued by eyewitnesses and led straight to the Brickdam Police Station, where he turned himself in.

The dead man has been identified as Steve Dexter Arthur of Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara. When the Guyana Chronicle arrived at the scene, Arthur was lying motionless in a pool of blood in front of the building that once housed the Guyana National Cooperative Bank (GNCB). Vendors at the time had already displayed their fruits and provision for sale.

As they awaited the arrival of the police, one of the vendors hurriedly packed his perishables into a bus as scores of passersby watched in dismay. “Me ain’t see nuttin, you know. Dem had a lil fight, and by de time I turn meh back I hear a holla,” the vendor said while packing his produce into his bus.

Vendors moving their fruits and provision away from the scene of the crime

The businessman, who has been selling in the area for the past three years, said it was only when he turned around that he saw the man bleeding profusely on the ground. However, he said while the two men are well known handymen around the Stabroek Market Square, they were not working for him at the time of the incident.

The police, upon arrival, cordoned off the area and commenced their investigation.