– attacker in custody

An argument over parking space at the Route 47 bus park yesterday afternoon left a driver in critical condition in the High Dependency Unit (HDU) of the Georgetown Hospital; his brother was also injured.

Their assailant, a minibus conductor, has since been taken into police custody.

Shawn Atkins, 38, of 38 East La Penitence sustained a punctured a lung after he was stabbed twice by a conductor after an argument broke out between them. This is according to the man’s brother, Leon Atkins, who was also injured when he intervened.

According to Leon Atkins, 52, his brother is a driver who operates a Route 47 minibus and was at the bus park which is alongside Salt and Pepper on Longden Street when he got into an argument with a conductor over a parking space.

Leon, who was not present at the time the argument broke out, said he learned that as his brother got into the bus the conductor pulled a knife and dealt him two stabs.

He subsequently went to the scene, he said, and the conductor turned on him and slashed his throat.

Leon who is also a driver of the same route told this newspaper that there would usually be arguments over parking, but this was unexpected. The conductor has since been taken into police custody.

When Stabroek News visited the family at the hospital, Shawn Atkins was being prepared for surgery. Leon, meanwhile, had stitches to his neck wound and a bandage over it. He was waiting outside the HDU with friends and family.