President of the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) Vernon Burnett reported yesterday that the organisation has not received word from the BK International Western Tigers Football Club ever since the shooting incident between then president Gordon Gilhuys and footballer Dwayne Ali.
According to Burnett the club should have investigated the events leading up to the alleged shooting that took place on March 4 while the team was returning from Linden where they had played in a practice match against Milerock. The recently-appointed Burnett said that they have seen reports in the press about the Gilhuys resigning and the footballer changing his story but the GFA has not received any official word on these developments.
This prompted Burnett to question whether Gilhuys has really resigned his post as president. Further, Burnett revealed that the GFA has forwarded a letter to the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) addressing the concerns it has with the club not responding.
In addition, Burnett warned that if a no correspondence comes from the club then a decision will be made at the GFA’s General Councils meeting next Saturday. At this point, Burnett does not know whether action will be taken against the club or the guilty parties. That apart, Burnett noted that the GFF has expressed “grave concerns” about the incident and the subsequent non-response from the club. Efforts to reach the General Secretary of the GFF Noel Adonis were futile.
Meanwhile, it was reported by this newspaper that the shooting incident between Ali and Gilhuys occurred around 23.30 hours on March 4 at Hibiscus Street and Mandela Avenue.
Ali, 31, of Garnett Street, is now a patient of the Georgetown Public Hospital. Ali had also told this newspaper on Saturday that a fight had broken out between Gilhuys, who is a licensed firearm holder, and another player when he “went and part them and I feel something stinging….” He had also stated that he was not aware of the circumstances under which the gun went off.
Ali, who has been playing with the Western Tigers for some four years now, said that he will have to wait to see whether he can play football again. He had also reportedly changed his story a few days after the shooting.
This is not the first time that the former policeman has been involved in a shooting incident. Four years ago, Gilhuys was accused of shooting a policeman in the chest on Woolford Avenue.
Thirty-three-year old Mark George of Lot 2033 Humming Bird Street, Festival City was shot while on police patrol on Friday June 27, 2008. A police release had stated that around 11.15 pm a mobile police patrol observed a heavily tinted vehicle, PJJ 6832 parked along Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.
The ranks stopped and approached the vehicle with a view to making checks, the police said, adding that ranks called on the driver of the vehicle “to turn on the lights of the vehicle and this resulted in a verbal exchange during which it is alleged that the driver discharged rounds at the police hitting Corporal 18352 George in his abdomen.”
According to the statement the police released at the time, the police returned fire hitting the vehicle, but the driver managed to get away.
