The female dormitory at the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) on the Essequibo Coast was razed by fire last night even as several inmates of the juvenile correctional facility remain at large following a mass break-out on Wednesday night.
According to a police release, the fire started around 7:55 last night and members of the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) responded to the blaze. A tailor shop was also destroyed but no injuries were reported.
A large contingent of police ranks converged on the scene to assist in containing the disturbance at the facility which falls under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. Efforts by this newspaper to reach subject Minister Dr Frank Anthony last evening were unsuccessful.
A security official at the facility told Stabroek News moments after the fire started last night that several male students at the juvenile detention centre stormed the sports centre there and armed themselves with cutlasses. He said the group then set the building alight as the situation grew out of control.
“They barge in the sports room and arm themselves with cutlass then start threaten to kill anyone who want stop them. Some didn’t taking no chance”, the frightened man stated.
According to the official, since he was beaten by a group of more than three dozen inmates who barged out of the facility on Wednes-day evening, he feared for his life and asked the supervisor on duty to leave the scene. The man said he was still in pain following the beating he received at the hands of the fleeing inmates on Wednes-day evening.
This newspaper was told by an Adventure resident around 9 pm last night that around eight of the juveniles were captured in that community soon after the fire and he noted that many of them were hiding out in the community as well as at Onderneeming in the Sand Road area.
He said that the authorities appeared unconcerned about the situation which he noted is frightening to Essequibians.
Stabroek News was told by an Onderneeming resident last night that he was attacked by three young men as he rode home on his bicycle. The man stated that the trio robbed him of his mobile phone and cash and according to him, it will be a difficult task for the authorities to recapture the juveniles since they escaped in various directions.
Essequibians are questioning why the authorities did not take more effective security action yesterday considering the mass break-out the previous night. Residents said that if more effective action had been taken the torching of the dorm and the second night of unrest might not have occurred.
Earlier last evening, the police stated in a release that the students who escaped from the facility on Wednes-day night had returned during the day but Crime Chief Seelall Persaud told this newspaper late yesterday afternoon that up to that point two of the students were still unaccounted for.
However, this newspaper was told that there were more than a dozen inmates who could not be located yesterday afternoon. In addition, a source at the facility noted that the management does not have an exact figure as regards how many juvenile detainees escaped on Wednesday night. He said that the matter was being played down by the management of the facility.
Overpowered
On Wednesday evening around 7 pm, the inmates broke out of their dormitories and stormed into the compound of the NOC. The 15 unarmed guards attached to Strategic Action Security Service (SASS) who were on duty at the time were overpowered by the inmates, who formed themselves into gangs and beat the senior security guards who were on duty.
According to a source close to the NOC, the break-out stemmed from an incident which drew anger from the male students at the facility earlier on Wednesday night. Noting that there were a number of “occurrences” there in recent weeks, the source related that two nights ago, a supervisor at the facility visited the male dormitory and upbraided the students about a door which was broken.
According to the source, the inmates became annoyed when the supervisor “promise to beat“ those who he pointed out during the confrontation. He said that soon after the man left the dormitory, the students proceeded to bang on the main door leading to that wing of the facility and successfully broke the door locks.
He said that an alarm was raised and the administrator urged the security personnel to attend to the situation but according to him, the men were met with stiff resistance by the students who by this time had armed themselves with cutlasses and sticks. He said that several security personnel were forced to seek cover but others were not so lucky.
According to the man, the students launched an attack on the more senior security guards, two men whose names he gave as “Deo” and “Sergie”. He said that the latter was soundly beaten by the cutlass-wielding inmates as he attempted to prevent them from leaving via the main gates at the front of the compound. This newspaper was told that the man was also relieved of $3000 and other valuables
During this time, he said that the students managed to pry open the locks in the female section of the compound and around five young women joined them in the escapades.
When this newspaper visited the NOC yesterday, security was on high alert as students milled around the compound. The dilapidated guard hut at the entrance of the compound was filled with stones which according to guards on duty were used by the students to retrieve keys to various units of the compound on Wednesday night. They said too that one of the security personnel on duty at the time was hit several times with the bricks.
Residents in the area told Stabroek News that while the students made their way onto the public road passing through the community, some attacked passers-by while others ran in various directions, mainly in the sea-wall area as well as in the direction of Sand Road, an area they are known to frequent during break-outs.
According to a resident, the students appeared incensed at the treatment they were receiving at the facility and he noted that the authorities needed to ensure that the security arrangements there were improved.
“Security is a big issue there and not only that the way they does beat them students and now if they recapture them it going be worse because they will get more ill-treatment“, the man stated.
A source at the facility told this newspaper that during the course of the year, there were several instances where some of the inmates broke out of the facility and according to him on most occasions the students would hide out in the thick bushes aback the compound.
He said that when the students are recaptured, harsh punishment would be meted out to them.
