The men who raked several vehicles on Middleton Street on Wednesday with bullets killing one man made a clean getaway despite mobile police patrols responding “quickly”, a statement from Eve Leary said yesterday.
None of the survivors has been able to recall seeing any of the gunmen who staged the attack and are just thankful for their lives. Gunmen opened fire at a police checkpoint set up at Middleton Street, Campbellville killing 21-year-old Arjune Narine, a travel consultant, and injuring Larry Gursahai, Jean Singh, and her son Mark Semple.
Police in the statement revealed that twenty-one .556 and eleven 7.62 x 39 spent shells were recovered at the scene.
The police have said that investigations revealed that police ranks had stopped the driver of a motorcar along Middleton Street after it was observed that the headlights of the vehicle were defective. Police said motorcar PGG 3465, driven by Mark Semple with Jean Singh in the passenger seat, which was proceeding in the opposite direction, was also stopped by the police. This resulted in Arjune Narine who was driving motorcar PGG 8089 and Larry Gursahai in motorcar PFF 7586 having to stop as they were travelling behind, the statement said.
While the police were carrying out their investigations, armed men who were along Drury Lane opened fire killing Arjune Narine and injuring Mark Semple who was hit to his right hand, Larry Gursahai who was hit to the upper right side of his back and Jean Singh in the upper right side of her back.
Police said mobile police patrols responded quickly to the report received but the armed men managed to escape.
The police also clarified that the rank who was dealing with the motorists was dressed in uniform and not in plain clothes as this newspaper had reported an eyewitness as saying in yesterday’s edition.
Larry Gursahai who sustained a gunshot wound was resting comfortably at his home, though still shaken by the event. He underwent emergency surgery on Wednesday night to remove the bullet and was discharged early yesterday morning. Jean Singh and her son Mark Semple who were grazed by bullets in the back were also treated and sent away from the medical institution.
Recounting the incident to this newspaper yesterday, Gursahai said he left home sometime after 9 to take his friend home and was driving down Middleton Street and was waiting to pass three vehicles which seemed temporarily parked and a police officer in uniform appeared to be verifying the documents of the driver of a Scarlet turbo. “It seemed as though the police was on a routine check but the distance between that car and the police car parked just opposite was not wide enough for me to drive past and so I hold back so he could turn out,” the man said.
“The next thing I see is his head lean backwards and rapid gunfire and I just duck my head and start driving and the policeman come at the side of my car and he told me ‘open, open is police’ and he jump in the back seat and tell me drive, drive to the station. But I turn into De Abreu Street and I stop the car and come out and he continued driving and he went to the Kitty police station,” the man recounted. He said a taxi then took him and his friend to the hospital. The man’s friend was unhurt.
The man said he had no idea where the gunshots came from but stated that he only realized he was shot when he started to feel a burning in his back.
“I didn’t see the gunmen and I can’t tell you which direction the bullets came from because as soon as I hear the sound I just bend for cover,” he said. Gursahai told Stabroek News too that he could not identify the policeman if he saw him again since the place was too dark. His bullet-riddled vehicle is still in police custody.
Over at the home of Jean Singh and her son Mark Semple, there was a sense of calm and throughout the ordeal they too kept their heads down, and are unsure too which direction the bullets came from.
Semple told this newspaper that his car was first in the line of two others and the police officer was checking his documents when the gunfire erupted.
“I don’t know where the shots came from but we duck our heads and it lasted for about two to three minutes and we didn’t raise our heads right away,” he said. A bullet grazed his left arm while his mother was grazed in her back. He said after they raised their heads the police officer was nowhere in sight.
The victims have given statements to the police and are also awaiting the release of their vehicles.
