The Buxton bloodbath
WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY ABOUT
Last Wednesday, a 36-year-old security supervisor Raul Herod ran amok at his family home in Buxton, killing his grandmother, mother, aunt, two of his three children and a niece and a nephew, before setting the home on fire and then taking his own life. Herod used a .32 Taurus to carry out the killings, during which his nine-year-old son escaped. The child is now a patient in the Georgetown Hospital. We asked the man/woman-in-the-street to comment on the tragedy. Their views follow: Shawndelle Smith - housewife: 'I think that the problems the family was experiencing could have been solved if one member of the family had stopped to listen to the other. I think that a lot had to do with nagging, torment and frustration. There were actually five women under one roof and one man. All of them in their own right were their own bosses. I think that Raul Herod being the only man in the family tried to assert himself as `the' boss and had problems doing so. As a worker, one never knows the frustrations of the job and when you go home you expect an atmosphere where you can relax. If that is not the case, you feel you can go over the edge and that may very well be what happened. The tragedy makes you look at your own family and the kind of relationships that exists among family members. I think people will try to improve communication between family members in the home.' Elaine Wilkinson - teacher: 'My sympathies go to the survivors, in particular to the mother who lost two children in the fire and Raul Herod's son, Jermaine. I think that the security firm which issued the weapon to Herod should have paid more heed to the complaints. I do not know what went through Herod's head to take the lives of his grandmother, mother and children. I think God had a hand in saving the child who escaped. God has a purpose for him. I think that he should also give his life to God. I feel strongly that the security company which gave Herod the gun should cover the lad's education and his general welfare until he comes of age.' Carlton Duke - private sector employee: 'The guy had a serious problem and he was pushed over the edge. His problem was anger control. People matured enough to recognise this should have helped him along in controlling his anger. It should have never reached this stage. Knowing that he could not have gotten peace in the family dominated by women, he should have moved out. He was in a good job and in a supervisory position and should have been able to manage his own home. This should never be allowed to happen again. Communities should be more vigilant and not leave people to their own demise. The police, too, need to act on reports. The police failed to investigate the reports and this encouraged Herod to continue what he obviously had been planning for some time now. From the time the police learnt he had a gun and was threatening members of the family with it they should have taken it away. When I was a child I lived at Soesdyke, there was this farmer who had a shot gun. He used to threaten his family and his wife and children would run and hide because they were afraid of him. The neighbours, aware of what could have happened supported his wife in reports to the police. When the police on the East Bank Demerara failed to act, those at Eve Leary took action and the man's gun was seized. Today he still lives with his family and they are a happier lot without the gun.' Asgar Ally - self-employed: 'I cannot see a sane man... a man holding a responsible job in a security company and respected on the job, in cold-blood kill his closest relatives and just saving his wife. It is clear that the man had given up on God and was demon possessed. Drugs has the ability to bring out evil in man and that is why he committed the crime. If a man has God he will be dutiful to his family and respect them for what they are. This was not obvious. This is the `Year of the Elderly' and it is sad that the contributions and the life of an elderly person had to be cut short by one's own off-spring. For the survivors of the massacre the State would be obliged to make a contribution.' Loretta Joseph - public sector employee: 'It is very sad. A tragedy of this magnitude can happen elsewhere. You read about it and you see it on television. I don't think it was the external influences so much that caused Herod to react in this way. I think that it was the individual's mind. At lot has to do with the upbringing that one gets at home and it is said that the child learns from the womb. I think that because of what happens we as a people would have to look into ourselves as individuals and see what our role should be in the home as well as at the community level. We have to go back to the old days when the people were on the lookout for each other's children. Even as adults we need to communicate with each other and seek advice. No man is an island. Everyone knew that Herod had a violent temper, many knew that he used threats. Why couldn't one of the respected elders in the community give him or the family some words of advice?' Gossai - public sector employee: 'The murder/suicide/arson has left me with more questions than answers. Why didn't Securicor investigate complaints which were said to have been made by Herod's sister? Why didn't the police investigate? What angered Herod so much that he was possessed with the idea to kill? Why did he kill his grandmother, his mother and his aunt? Why did he kill his children? Why did he kill his niece and nephew? Why did he allow his wife to go free? How many people's consciences are bothering them today because they did not help a family that was obviously in crisis? What will become of the child who survived the ordeal? Will he get over the ordeal he suffered? Could someone give me answers?' Orethia Wallace - sales clerk: 'This is the second time that Buxton has experienced a tragedy of this magnitude. I think that support groups and the Ministry of Human Services have to do more outreach work in areas such as Buxton. Buxton may not be the only community where problems of domestic violence may occur. I think that because a deadly weapon was placed in the hands of someone who has snuffed out the lives of an entire family, government now needs to pay closer attention to the operations of security firms. The company which issued the gun to Herod should now subscribe to the rebuilding of the home for those who survived Herod's onslaught. I also think that the police knew Herod's problems but chose to ignore it because he was a cop before he joined the security company and it was a case where he had lines.' Altaf Gafoor - University of Guyana student: 'The fact that a man can murder his family including his mother and his children means that he had to be insane or he had to have been on drugs. It had to be either one. No sane person would have done what he did. The problem is very hard to fathom. Society should not take the blame for such a disgraceful inhuman act. My heart feels for the little child who now has a bullet in his jaw. He must now undergo surgery and no one close to him will be there for him when he wakes up after sedation. After the trauma he has undergone he will need expert counselling. I think he will be scarred mentally and physically from the whole incident. Whoever takes care of him has to show him a lot of love and care. Someone has to take it upon himself to adopt him.' Jacqueline De Roche - housewife: 'I am angered and saddened by the tragedy. I am angry because the security guard service should not have allowed Raul Herod to carry a gun after complaints were made against him. The administration or management of the company should have checked out the report and should have spoken with other family members to verify the complaint and taken relevant action. How could you allow a man who could not control his anger to take home a gun on a 24-hour basis. Could it be that he cracked under stress or was he on drugs? Why didn't his newly-wedded wife exercise more influence on him. She knew that he was going to do something wrong. Why didn't she try to dissuade him from doing something bad. If it wasn't a case of drugs then the whole situation could have been avoided.' R. Ganesh - Assistant Manager: 'He was a big man in a responsible position but the incident showed clearly that he was totally out of control. I do not think that because of how the situation developed he was clearly not in control. He was not man enough to take control. As long as you have a family you cannot allow stress to take over. I think if his family did not like his wife he should have moved out of the family house. He had his own family. I think he listened and believed in his wife and acted out of anger without investigating. Gruesome as the tragedy is, it is a lesson for families to take heed of. Now because an individual lacked self-control, a child will be haunted by the nightmare of his family killed by his father when he should have been basking in the security of a family. The memory may ease but he will never forget what happened.' 
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