Two Sentinel Security guards are nursing gunshot wounds after armed men launched a surprise attack at the Movie Towne construction site located at Pattensen, East Coast Demerara early yesterday morning.
The injured men are Stanley Brown, age 50, of Mahaica who was shot in the left ankle and David Barrow, age 53, of West Ruimveldt who sustained a gunshot wound to the right foot. They were taken to the Georgetown Hospital.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Brown told Stabroek News that he saw two men carry out the assault and added that the attackers were clearly intending to immobilise the guards and then rob the Chinese company which operates the site.
Burrowes stated that he and Brown were just coming back from a patrol when he spotted the two men and challenged them by asking “why y’all peeping, peeping every minute, y’all watching these people place?
He continued, “Same time di bannah pull out a .32, raise up a .32 right to me head, I push he off, then he fire two round at me foot and one round at the other guard foot and when dey done them mek them escape”.
He said that there are workers on the site and they check regularly on the guards and so at first he mistook the attackers for occupants of the site.
Burrowes who did not have a weapon said that his partner had a shotgun but after the attackers shot at them and were trying to run away, Brown pulled out his weapon and attempted to shoot but it malfunctioned. “It stick”, he said. Brown said that he had heard about other attempted robberies at the site.
There are no reports of any attempts being made to execute a robbery or any demands made by the two intruders.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told Stabroek News that the two guards were on duty just after 4 am when two men entered the compound and opened fire. Asked if this was a case of armed robbery, he inferred that the armed men could have been there for no other reason.
Stabroek News has since learnt that the two intruders opened fire from behind the guard hut which suggests that they entered from the back more than likely by jumping over the perimeter zinc fence.
There are two ways of reaching the entrance to the construction site – the East Coast Highway or the Railway Line. The guard hut is backing the East Coast Highway and facing the Railway line. This newspaper on visiting the location observed pools of blood in the guard hut which suggests that the men were shot right in there. There was a hole in the back window glass and this newspaper was told that it was here that the first set of shots were fired.
Blanhum said that from all indications the men fled the scene on foot but no one Stabroek News spoke with could say in which direction they headed. No one in the area has reported any suspicious vehicles parked nearby. There are houses closer to the Railway Line and there are a few to the right side of the entrance to the construction site.
The police visited the scene shortly after the incident and after conducting investigations, cordoned off the area. Investigators arrived for a second time while the media was at the location.
Gerald Henry, the day security said that when he reported for duty around 6:30 am he was immediately told of the shooting. He said that he subsequently made his security checks around the compound. He said it was related to him that two armed bandits came in and shot at the back window of the security hut. He said that the two guards were sitting in the hut at the time. He said that when the gunmen opened fire both guards were struck.
Two police detectives with a worker at the site.
According to Henry, one of the injured guards has been working at the site for three weeks and the other for two nights. Henry has been working there for about a month.
Stabroek News has since learnt that this is the latest in a series of similar incidents which have occurred at the location which is under the control of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC). A police official stated that there have been several other reports within the last two months but persons familiar with the location said the most recent incidents occurred within a shorter period of time.
Henry recalled that there were two such incidents last week and both are being investigated by police. He said that both were similar to today’s incident as they included exchanges of gunfire
Jerry (only name given) who identified himself as the manager when approached by Stabroek News could not speak on those previous incidents and was not in a position to say what measures have been put in place to secure the site and protect workers.
Both local and Chinese nationals are employed at the site.
In recent days a galvanized sheeting fence was erected around the compound.
In December 2014, CHEC signed a contract in Port of Spain, Trinidad, for the construction of Movie Towne Guyana. The US$30M agreement, between China Harbour and Derek Chin, Chairman of Movie Town Cineplex, includes the construction of entertainment facilities, restaurants and commercial space. The project was expected to be completed in 18 months but there have been delays.
China Harbour has also been contracted for the Cheddi Jagan Airport and Runway extension project.
