Miner goes berserk, turns city into temporary war zone… Businessman kills two policemen, two civilians before he’s shot dead
- shocking shootout leaves nation shaken, as condolences flow
TWO policemen, a taxi dispatcher, a taxi driver and a businessman are now dead following a shootout at Middle and East Streets in the city which lasted for more than three hours yesterday.
‘KILLED’: Policeman Michael Forde
Dead are Police Lance Corporal 20293 Michael Ford, Police Constable 18053 Pantlitz, Crown Taxi Dispatcher Vanessa Williams, an unidentified taxi driver and businessman Deryck Kanhai, the shooter.
What triggered the tragic encounter is still unclear, but from all indications it seems that the man had “tripped out” and “gone berserk”. This newspaper was informed that the man who was identified as a gold miner and who owned two licensed firearms made the taxi dispatcher his first target.
His next target was a taxi driver who, up to press time last night, was still unidentified. The police were called in and the businessman retreated to his home where he secured himself and invited the police to a shootout which saw a fusillade of bullets being fired in the highly populated area.
As the first police patrol arrived on the scene yesterday, they came under fire from the businessman as they attempted to gain entry to his home on the upper flats of the three-storeyed, heavily grilled building. The police subsequently summoned reinforcements and soon a constant inflow of heavily armed forces arrived on the scene.
‘KILLED’: Police Officer Sherwin Pantlitz
Then members of the Fire Service came and remained on standby.
As the bullets flew from the house where the businessman was holed up and the police, those who run businesses in the areas locked their doors and windows and those living in nearby homes did the same.
As word of the shooting got around the city like “wild fire”, persons travelled to the area just to see what was happening while others rushed to the nearby Balwant Singh Hospital where relatives were seeking medical attention.
Two Indian nationals employed at the hospital were also rescued from a building located near the one the shooter was firing from.
Soon the crowd that gathered to watch the drama unfold grew so large that the police were pressed to hold them back as they pressed against cordons flung up by the lawmen.
As the cross-fire became more intense, several well known police officers arrived on the scene, as the crowd applauded, perhaps hoping that the senior officers would soon bring the situation under control.
Among those who arrived were Assistant Commissioner of Police George Vyphius, retired senior officer and former head of the highly-feared but now disbanded Target Special Squad (Black Clothes) Steve Merai; an embattled police officer who is popularly known as ‘Gangster’; Senior Superintendant Watts and a young, seemingly fearless CANU rank named Loknauth, who later broke down in tears at the death of his colleague law enforcement ranks.
One of the challenges for the police yesterday in closing in on the building was the presence of security (CCTV) cameras placed around the building and which the shooter was using to monitor the movements of the police from inside the secured building.
The police only became aware of the man’s tactic after realising that every movement they made in attempting to gain entry to the building was thwarted by the businessman, who opened fire in those directions. It was then that the police, two hours into the shootout, decided to take out the strategically placed security cameras by shooting at them.
It was not very long after that move that the police were able to close in on the building even as the man continued to fire at them.
While at the scene, this newspaper caught up with brother of the businessman, Aubrey Kanhai, who said he had no idea what caused his brother to “flip”. The man said that he was out when he heard that there was an incident at the home of his mother, which he shared with his brother.
He said that when he arrived on the scene, the police were already on the location and the shootout was on.
He said that his brother, who was 52, was the licensed firearm holder of a shotgun and a pistol.
Last evening this newspaper was beginning to receive information that the man might have had connections to the El Dorado Mining Company which was robbed over the weekend.
However, what this newspaper was able to confirm is that the man’s family are all business people, and among them they operate a business in the city, one in Cuyuni and another in Bartica, all mining related.
Meanwhile, following the high afternoon drama, the Guyana Police Force issued a press release last evening offering their condolences to the family of the deceased policemen and civilians who were gunned down by the businessman.
The police said that the man was indeed a licensed firearm holder. They added that following the killing of the man, they entered the home and were able to recover a shotgun, a .32 pistol and a .22 pistol.
(By Leroy Smith)