An ex-prison officer was fatally shot while a man suspected to have been his accomplice was wounded after they attempted to carry out a robbery yesterday morning along the Liliendaal Railway Embankment road, East Coast Demerara.
Trydon Munroe, 24, of New Amsterdam, Berbice, was shot several times in his chest by the security officer escorting his intended victim, an interior flight service supervisor who was couriering parcels containing cash and gold. He was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), where he was pronounced dead on arrival. He was later positively identified by an aunt.
Hours after the shooting, another man, identified as Mark Griffith, of Linden, who is suspected to have been Munroe’s accomplice, turned up at the GPH with gunshot injuries. He was admitted at the institution under police guard up to late yesterday afternoon.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed the shooting, which occurred around 9.45 am at the Giftland Mall Access Road junction. According to Blanhum, Munroe was dismissed from the Prison Service in March of this year for breaching the prison service regulations due to his delinquent behaviour.
On Munroe’s Facebook page, he had posted several photos of large amounts of cash, alcohol and various firearms.
The attack occurred while the supervisor and her security escort, who was armed with a licenced firearm, were heading back to Georgetown in a car after collecting several parcels from the Eugene F. Correia International Airport, at Ogle.
The police said their investigations revealed that while they were in the vicinity of the Giftland Mall Access Road on the Railway Embankment, a dark coloured car blocked their path and two bandits, who were brandishing firearms, exited the vehicle. During this process, the police said that the security escort drew his firearm and discharged several rounds that struck Munroe, who fell on the road. “The security [escort] then exited the vehicle and discharged his firearm at the other armed accomplice, suspected to be Griffith, who managed to escape on foot,” it added.
The vehicle that transported the bandits to the scene sped away during the shooting. The police, who responded promptly after a report was made, recovered a .32 pistol with three live matching rounds at the scene.
Stabroek News was told that during their journey back to Georgetown, the supervisor and the security escort suspected they were being trailed by a black car, whose occupants were acting suspiciously.
Reports are that while they were in the vicinity of the Giftland Mall Access Road, they were forced to stop due to the traffic congestion. It was at this point that they were confronted by the bandits. The men were reportedly unaware that their intended victim was accompanied by the security escort.
Stabroek News was told that Munroe attempted to open fire at the security escort but his gun jammed and he was shot dead instead. The escort then turned to the accomplice and opened fire. However, he managed to escape.
At the scene yesterday, a large crowd gathered to get a glimpse at the aftermath. A vendor, who sells near the scene, was counting her lucky stars that she wasn’t present at the time of the shooting. “I got someone who does come out and pack up the stall for me and then I does come out after and he tell me if you see how bullet was just fired and was share chaos,” the woman said.
