A Guyana Defence Force (GDF) rank attached to the Air Corps based in Timehri, was late Friday night shot by two armed men who allegedly invaded the compound.
According to a source, Private Hilton Alfred, 21, who took over duty as guard at 23:00 hrs, went to relieve his bladder at the rear of the Air Corps hangar, when he saw two men, dressed in black walking towards him. The source said that Alfred challenged the advancing intruders, who ignored him. The private then challenged the men a second time, and they opened fire on him. As a result, Alfred received a gunshot wound to his left leg. He, however, managed to return fire and the men ran away.
The source continued that as there were no vehicles available at the time of the incident, a vehicle from the fire service nearby was used to transfer the injured man to Base Camp Stephenson Health Centre, after which he was transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) via a GDF Ambulance. He is currently a patient at the hospital.
This newspaper understands that the men might have entered the Air Corps compound by jumping the fence at the back, closer to the road, and the reason for such an intrusion might have been to gain access to arms and ammunition.
