A 20-year-old Fourth Street, Alberttown mechanic was killed last night after he attempted to assist a police officer who was arresting a man in the community.
According to reports, around 8:15 pm, Brian Assannah, popularly known by his middle name `Sule’ left his mother’s home to hang out at the corner of Light and Fourth streets, Alberttown when he encountered a police officer who was attempting to arrest a man.
Reports are that after the man scuffled with the police, Assannah intervened and was stabbed to the right side of his neck below his ear. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The man was also wounded with the knife close to his right hip, hospital sources told this newspaper. He would have celebrated his 21st birthday on Wednesday.
Assannah’s mother, Lurlene Mingo told Stabroek News last night at the GPH that her son arrived home sometime around 8 pm and ate his dinner.
”He just come home and I gave him his dinner …I mek some pepper-pot and some other food and he sit down and eat and then he said he going on by the road”, the distraught woman said.
She said that less than 10 minutes after he left the house, someone rushed to her home and informed that her son had been stabbed. She said that she ran out of the house and found her son bleeding profusely from his neck as passers-by flagged down a car to take him to the hospital. On arrival at the GPH doctors tried desperately to save the young man’s life but he soon succumbed.
According to an eyewitness, Assannah was hanging out at the street corner when he observed the police officer, who is well known to the area, arresting the man. ”… the police was arresting he for something but he was giving (police officer name given) a hard time”, the eyewitness stated.
She said that Assannah went to the aid of the policeman and according to her, the assailant threw a bicycle which he had in his possession at the officer. She said that the man then pulled out a knife and swung wildly at both the officer and Assannah but while the officer evaded the weapon, “he catch Sule and hold he by he head and juk he straight through he neck behind he ears”. The stab wound was approximately three inches deep, a hospital source stated.
When this newspaper arrived at the GPH last night, scores of residents and relatives flocked the hospital’s Accident and Emergency (A&E) unit after receiving news of the incident. The young man’s mother broke down in tears as doctors informed of Assannah’s passing.
His friends said that he was well loved in the community, adding that the family is well-known in the area.
The police were last evening scouring the Alberttown area in search of the assailant who according to reports is well known to the lawmen and the community. He has had many run-ins with the law, a source told Stabroek News.
A police release last night said: “Investigations so far revealed that a report of threatening language was made against the suspect at the Alberttown Police Station earlier today. He was seen riding past the police station tonight and was challenged by a Rural Corporal on duty at the station who attempted to arrest him. However the suspect resisted and rode away.
“He was pursued by the Rural Corporal and a Police Constable who caught up with him at Fourth and Light Street, Alberttown, and a scuffle ensued as he again resisted being arrested. At this time Brian Assannah who was in the vicinity came up and advised the suspect that he should go with the police, whereupon the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed him to his neck and escaped on the bicycle.”
Recently there has been an increase in fatal stabbings.
Two weekends ago Jennifer Persaud, 41, and her sons Afridi Bacchus, 6, and Jadon Persaud 18 months were discovered in the woman’s bedroom at Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara (WCD) with stabs wounds and slit throats.
Last Sunday, two brothers Imran Bacchus, 27, and Shaheed Bacchus, 26, of Wismar Street, Mackenzie, and Linden were stabbed to death allegedly by a cousin following an altercation at Industrial Area, Mackenzie.
That Sunday morning, two Corentyne broom vendors, Florry Papiah, 33, and Jennifer Pooran, 19 were found in the Adventure backdam with their throats slit.
On Monday evening 17-year old Imran Mohammed, of Belle West, Canal Number Two Polder was stabbed and killed by a gang at his community following an altercation. At least one member of the gang was arrested by the police and is expected to be placed before the courts this week.
The following day, a 23-year old Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara fisherman, Sam Lall was allegedly stabbed to death by his reputed wife at their, Block 8 Mon Repos home around 6 am that morning.
