The results following a ballistic test on the firearm belonging to journalist, Travis Chase, have been labelled as “inconclusive.”
This is according to the Guyana Police Force, one week after Chase was told to hand in his weapon for testing.
It was on December 11, at about 19.30 hours in the evening that Chase narrowly evaded what was described as an attempt on his life at the intersection of D’Urban Street and Cemetery Road in Georgetown. It was reported that a lone gunman on a motorcycle opened fire on Chase as he was exiting his car, prompting Chase to seek cover.
After firing several rounds, the gunman escaped on his motorcycle as an off-duty cop attempted pursuit.
An investigation was launched and Chase’s car was found to have three bullet holes on the left rear.
Two days later, police indicated that the investigators had recovered spent shells from the scene and submitted them to the Crime Laboratory for testing. The test, the force disclosed in a release, showed that the shell casings from the bullets intended for Chase had “significant similarities” with the bullets in the gun he owns.
“One of the expert firearm examiners within the laboratory compared the shell casings mentioned above with the specimen shell casings that were obtained from Mr. Chase when he had just purchased and registered his firearm, and the preliminary test result reveals significant similarities between these spent shells”, the Guyana Police Force said in a statement.
As a result, investigators invited Chase to surrender his licensed firearm for further analysis to be conducted.
Chase in response to the statement painted it as “absolute nonsense” and said that the CCTV footage in the area would corroborate his version of the events. He stressed that he was in possession of his firearm when the incident occurred and at no time did he fire a single shot from his weapon.
Additionally, he noted that his hands were never swabbed, remarking, “They know very well why they want to keep my weapon.”
The report from the Force has triggered some debate publicly about the incident with some arguing that the incident was planned, while some insist it was not.
This incident has also put the case under a microscope with calls from some sections of society for the results to be made public.
When Stabroek News contacted the Commander of “A” Division, Assistant Commissioner Simon McBean a few days ago regarding the results of the ballistic test, his response was “all that is part of the investigation. The ballistic test was completed. That’s not a separate matter; it is part of the investigation and it will be part of the file.”
The Force was pressed again yesterday by the media for the results and was told that the tests were inconclusive.
Chase was also told to uplift his vehicle, which was being held by police.
