Dear Editor,
It has been reported that Shawn Nelson has been shot in the head in a drive-by shooting incident. He is now battling for his life at a city hospital. The story that sections of the press are giving is that this was an accidental shooting, two friends being embroiled in a heated argument wherein the perpetrator whips out a gun points it to, of all places, the victim’s head then releases the trigger. Now, what is going on in Guyana? Here we have another situation of a driver pulling up in a vehicle, pointing an illegal firearm to the head of another and calmly shooting him. Seems to me that we are living in the wild west where practically anything goes especially in the line of illegal firearm use. The possession and use of these illegal, deadly weapons is of grave concern right now and if not addressed urgently I shudder to think where we as a society are headed.
Let us analyse the scene, a strange vehicle drives up alongside a pedestrian when a heated argument ensues then, rapid gunfire. The victim lays there dying in his own blood while the perpetrator drives off presuming that his identity is hidden. When the shooter became aware of the possibility of the entire affair being caught on camera and also the testimony of eyewitnesses, he crashes the car under the pretext that someone else used it to commit the crime. He later turns up at the police station with his lawyer to, as it were “clear his name.” It is quite obvious that the murder weapon is noticeably absent. Fantastic! What a country we are living in. It wasn’t me, a phantom did it. I have a few questions to ask depending on how long after he turned up at the station. Were swabs taken of his fingers to ascertain firearm use? Was a breathalyzer test done on the accused – this would solidify the police’s case that he was driving under the influence – which is an additional charge. There will be no claim of police brutality here, seeing he turned up with a lawyer. My only point is that police interrogation rooms should be equipped with cameras to capture the entire process. This is also prime evidence to be used in a court of law.
It now brings me to the point where charges are to be instituted. It will be interesting to know what charges would be read to the shooter.
Yours faithfully,
Neil Adams
