Three months after School of the Nations Director Dr Brian O’Toole was shot in an attack at his home, the identity of the shooter remains unknown while new evidence, described as a “sickening” audio recording, was handed over to the police on Monday.
This was disclosed at a joint press conference held by Commissioner of Police Leslie James and O’Toole at the Commissioner’s Conference Room, Eve Leary, last evening.
The press conference came one day after James met with O’Toole to discuss the way forward in the investigation and to clear up some “misunderstandings.”
James told reporters that as the investigation continues, the police are currently pursuing three individuals. One of them, James said, left the country prior to the shooting. “…What I can say based on the information given to us, we took certain steps, we have checked our internal records and based on our checks it [was] revealed that the individual was out of the jurisdiction based on a document that we perused,” James said.
The individual has reportedly been deemed a person of interest in relation to the cyber threats made towards the student body of the school prior to the attack on O’Toole.
Following the shooting, James said local police made contact with their counterparts abroad.
“…We have been in contact with our counterparts and we have had back and forth communication pursuant to this matter. So, as I said, [there is] existing cooperation between the two countries,” he noted.
O’Toole said he was shown a document during Monday’s meeting to show that the individual indeed departed the country on December 15th, 2018.
“They showed us proof of certain forms that were filled out to say that he left the country on date X, so now, as in any investigation, the request is in to corroborate that,” he said.
“So I have told the police my perception, my understanding and we shared that, that’s on record. That has never changed. We are now looking at whether that person was in the country at the time or not. The police have done their investigation and they have shown us the evidence that they have about him not being in the country at the time,” he further noted.
O’Toole also explained that he has since provided the police with a description of his shooter.
“As I said before, the house was clearly lit. I believe that I have a clear picture of who the person was. I gave that statement to the police, that statement has never changed, my description of the person…
“In my mind, I have a picture exactly of what the guy looks like and that picture of what was in my mind has been shared with the police… I have shared an idea to the police that they are working on. They have gone through their protocol to say he wasn’t in the country at the time and I have said clearly to the police, if that’s proven then I am more than willing to say—well, obviously if its proven—I am more than happy to say well it can’t be him,” O’Toole added.
‘Sickening’
Meanwhile, James also revealed that the police were on Monday provided with an audio recording by O’Toole and it is now a crucial piece of evidence in the investigation. The recording, he said, is currently being perused by investigators and will be analysed.
O’Toole said the recording was only handed over during Monday’s meeting since it was only then that the person who brought it to his attention agreed to have that done.
The individual, O’Toole said, initially expressed fear.
He described the recording as the most ‘”sickening” 30 seconds of audio that he has ever heard.
“Recently, we were given an added piece of information… I have shared it with the police and it’s actually a very clear message that came only a few days ago from a person of interest—and we have the recording… I have given it to the American embassy—that is gloating about the killing, saying ‘Isn’t it amazing that when you shot the man, he did the Fortnite dance?’ And then he said, ‘How wicked is that?’ And he laughed. So whether that’s evidence, I am not a lawyer in the court of law. It shows he knows what’s going on and its shows that the guy is sick… and I am not saying he is the shooter, I have never said that, but to glory in it and laugh in it, that was the most sickening 30 seconds of audio I think I have ever heard,” he related.
O’Toole was shot on January 27th, hours after he had called a meeting at the school to address threats that had surfaced online against the school’s student body.
The threats were made via Facebook and police and cybersecurity experts had been trying to locate the individual responsible.
The shooting resulted in the paralysis of his left hand. He will be returning to the United States soon for a fifth surgery.
The school was temporarily closed after parents expressed their fears about security in light of the threats and the subsequent shooting of O’Toole. Prior to reopening, the school intensified its security and adopted an active shooter response plan.
Dissatisfied with the police investigation, parents had also staged a peaceful protest in front of the Ministry of Public Security’s Brickdam office, where they had announced an offer of a $1 million reward for any information that may lead to the arrest of the perpetrator/s.
Information that was circulated suggested that the shooter was identified and apprehended in the United States.
In a recent interview with Stabroek News, O’Toole had said that he is trying to remain hopeful that his attacker will be caught and brought to justice, while fearing that there has been a “cover-up” in the case.
However, his views changed yesterday when he said he is satisfied with the probe thus far. James and Crime Chief Lyndon Alves, when asked by the media, said they are satisfied with the investigators’ work thus far in the matter.
James said that investigators as continue to pursue the matter, no stone is being left unturned. “As I told Dr O’Toole yesterday—and he much appreciated it—I said to him that we were working assiduously… we prefer to do our investigation quietly, working assiduously. When we get evidence, then we will move towards the court,” he further stated.
