Four fishermen are in police custody following the stabbing to death of a 21-year-old pump attendant at Moruka, North West District, on Friday night.
A team of police officers headed by a senior investigator was yesterday dispatched to the area where residents are calling for measures to be put in place to protect them from ‘outsiders.’
Dead is 21-year-old Damien La Rose of Horridah, Moruka, NWD. He sustained a gaping knife wound under his left breast and died on his way to the Kumaka Cottage Hospital located a short distance away.
According to a police press release investigations have revealed that La Rose and a group of friends were imbibing at a shop around 22:00 hours when an argument arose. La Rose was fatally stabbed during the argument, the release added.
Stabroek News has since been told by residents of the area that La Rose and friends were seen consuming alcohol at a shop located near the bridge which links the Kumaka and Santa Rosa villages when they got into a heated argument with a group of fishermen who had visited the area to sell fish.
During the argument, the fishermen were reportedly taunted. One of the fishermen then allegedly stabbed La Rose. Friends who were with him at the time ran away and left him.
Police later arrested the stabber and his colleagues who were up to late last evening still in custody at the Kumaka Police Station. It is unclear if ranks recovered the murder weapon.
A close relative who does not want her name published told this newspaper via telephone that La Rose’s father is working at another location and does not know how he will cope with the death. La Rose who is the third of seven siblings had only returned home last week. He had been working at another interior location.
Meanwhile, a relative, Sharon La Rose said that the entire community was sad and shocked at the incident as the man was known to be a peacemaker and was very popular. She said too that he was a very active member of the community and was a sports organiser.
Shawn Domingo, one of La Rose’s team mates from the Horridah cricket team said that he will be missed.
“He was always jovial; whenever the team travelled for a cricket match, he was always joking around. He was also one of the most active members in the team,” Domingo said.
Sharon stressed that murders are rare in the Moruka area, although there were occasional suicides.
She expressed anger at yesterday’s incident saying that the village council should be doing more to monitor persons who came into the community.
She said that this is something that residents have been calling for, for several years now but to no avail.
“When they [the outsiders] come they trying to bully us, maybe because we are an Amerindian village,” the woman said, adding that other residents are very upset over the situation particularly the circumstances surrounding the death of La Rose.
She hopes that as a result of this incident the council, whose members were part of the recently concluded National Toshaos Council meeting in Georgetown, would put measures in place to protect residents.
In the case of fishermen, she said that they would spend several days in the area selling their produce before leaving.
La Rose’s remains are lying at the hospital mortuary awaiting a post mortem examination.
He leaves to mourn his parents Pamela and Dennis La Rose.
