More shooting in Buxton
Man killed after police scuffle
Stabroek News
May 17, 2003
More shooting erupted in the troubled village of Buxton yesterday as members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) moved to clear some of the roads that had been blocked and a man died later in a confrontation with the police.
The attack on the army came shortly after a member of a police patrol shot and killed Gary Anthony Smith, one of two suspected thieves in their custody at the time, while on the Vigilance Public Road. The police said yesterday that Smith was shot after he bit one of the ranks, stabbed him with an ice pick and attempted to escape from lawful custody.
According to reports, an army patrol had intercepted and arrested Smith and another man as they were being chased by a group of persons in the vicinity of the public road and the Annandale Market Road. Stabroek News understands that the GDF ranks handed over the men to a passing police patrol to be escorted to the Vigilance Police Station, but shortly after this occurred, Smith was shot several times.
A release from the Police Public Relations Department last evening said that around 12:20 pm, on the Vigilance Public Road, “a prisoner who attempted to escape by stabbing a policeman with an ice pick and biting him during a struggle, was fatally shot by another policeman who rushed to the rescue of his colleague. In the process, the injured policeman was accidentally shot in the left foot”.
The rank who was stabbed, bitten and shot, was receiving medical attention last night and his condition was reported to be stable. Smith was reportedly left on the roadway and was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation by members of the GDF patrol. Hospital sources said he sustained multiple gunshot wounds from the chest down and was pronounced dead on arrival.
According to the police, Smith, who was also known as Gregory Anthony Smith, was arrested for the alleged larceny of a bicycle. He was suspected to be from the Parika area, East Bank Essequibo. The release made no mention of the second man. The police said the bicycle and ice pick have been lodged and an investigation has been launched.
Meanwhile, members of the army were repeatedly fired upon yesterday while attempting to clear several roads in Buxton of debris, boulders and other forms of barricades. Reports state that the initial attack started at about 1 p.m., after the force had already cleared the Company and Church of God roads in the village. Someone reportedly fired upon a front-end loader, which was being operated by the GDF.
Stabroek News understands that the army returned fire and might have hit one of the gunmen in the process. The army subsequently conducted cordon and search exercises of two houses on the railway embankment, just west of Company Road, but the wounded suspect was not found.
By press time last night, the situation in the area was relatively calm and the army had also managed to clear the Friendship Middle Walk. Residents in the Buxton/Friendship community yesterday said there were repeated shooting incidents throughout the day, starting before 6 am.
On Thursday morning, a GDF Lance Corporal and two other men were shot and killed during a shootout in the troubled community as a joint police and army patrol moved in the village to search for kidnapped businessman Viticharan Singh, of DeHoop, Mahaica. L/Cpl Shemton Dodson, of Paradise Village, West Coast Berbice, who was shot dead, has been hailed for his bravery in the exercise.
The two other men, said to be part of a group of three gunmen, were wanted man Mark Anthony Phillips called ‘Big Batty Mark’ and another man identified yesterday as 18-year-old Leslie Anthony Peters called ‘Chinee’, formerly of Den Amstel, West Coast Demerara.
Since the crime wave erupted last year, the Buxton/Friendship community has been dubbed a haven for criminals escaping the arms of the law. It has been the scene of many violent crimes and several persons have been either killed, or dumped in the community.
