Werk-en-Rust residents were roused by the sound of rapid gunfire early this morning as unknown persons in two cars sped about randomly discharging their firearms into the air.
Stabroek News was unable to establish contact with senior police officials on the matter, and it is uncertain if those responsible for the early morning wake-up call have yet been apprehended.
There were neither casualties nor injuries during the incident which occurred at about 02:10 hrs, but the actions of the individuals who perpetrated the act were labelled by residents as reckless and dangerous. Residents recalled hearing three separate bursts of gunshots, each of which seemed to come from separate areas.
One resident speculated that the shooters may have discharged their weapon (s) at intervals as they drove along. This theory was confirmed by police officers who recovered spent shells at three separate locations.
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene, heavily armed ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), who arrived within minutes of the last burst of gunfire, were seen scouring the intersection of United Nation’s Place and Norton Street, Newburg where, according to one resident, the last of the gunshots were heard.
The resident said that he was awakened by the sound of what he believed were gunshots.
“The second time I heard the sounds I was almost certain that what I was hearing were gunshots. I ran to a window and just as I peeked through I saw two vehicles, turn into Norton Street and speed away, but as they were turning they let out another set of gunshots. The police showed up in less than five minutes and were all over the place,” said the resident.
It is still uncertain what type of weapon was used although the police ranks on the scene suggested that the 13 shells recovered at the intersection of United Nations Place and Princes Street were from a 9mm pistol. At least two residents on the other hand stated their belief that some form of automatic weapon was used in the “reckless” act. “Na man, cyan be no nines, them shots come like “ratatatata, a nine is more like “blam, blam, blam, one at a time.”
An undisclosed amount of shell casings were recovered from this intersection. Further checks of the area revealed a total of 13 spent casings, clustered together on the intersection of United Nation’s Place and Princes Street.
A further 12 rounds were found scattered about the intersection of United Nations Place and Evans Street, Charlestown, a few feet away from the location of an ongoing street party. Patrons of this party said that they recalled seeing vehicles pass on the intersection, but said they did not hear gunshots.
Corroborating the different locations of the spent shells with eyewitness accounts, the gunmen are believed to have been proceeding north along United Nations Place when they fired the first burst of gunshots where the road intersected Evans Street.
The gunmen then proceeded farther north on United Nations Place to Princes Street, where they discharged their weapon (s) a second time. Remaining on United Nations Place, the men continued north along United Nations Place and fired the final burst of shots as they turned east into Norton Street and sped away.
