Police have found a gun that is believed to be the one with which 17-year-old Andel Daniels accidentally shot himself.
The gun was reportedly found in the boat that took the teen to the authorities after the incident occurred on Thursday night.
Daniels, a farmer of Caracas Ville, West Canje Berbice, was found around 7.30 on Thursday with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. The teen was reportedly walking down a stairway with a gun in his hand, when the stairs collapsed, causing the gun to accidentally discharge a round which hit him.
According to the police, a “man with a paddle boat” picked up Daniels and took him the Neighbourhood Police indicating that he had been shot and needed to be taken for immediate medical attention. The teen was rushed to Baracara health centre, which later transferred him to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital. But when he got there at 11 pm on Thursday, he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Commander of ‘B’ Division Ian Amsterdam said a team of investigators travelled to the area and it was this team that found a shotgun in “the paddle boat” that brought the injured Daniels out from the area.
According to Amsterdam, investigators are working to figure out if it is possible that the gun which the teen supposedly had in his possession could have accidentally discharged the round which killed him. The commander said investigations revealed that other persons were staying at the house with the teen. However, when police arrived on the scene the house had been abandoned.
Police have since swabbed Daniels’ hands, as well as those of another person of interest, for gunpowder residue and are awaiting the results.
Meanwhile, according to information gathered, Daniels’ mother has been missing since 2013; she was pregnant when she disappeared.
According to a relative, who asked that his name not be disclosed, Daniels had left home some time ago to work with friends on a farm at Catherineburg, in the Canje River.
The family is calling on the police to conduct a thorough investigation. Daniels’ body is currently at the New Amsterdam Hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination. The teen leaves to mourn his siblings and other relatives and friends.
