Friendship shootings
Two more bodies identified
By Kim Lucas
Stabroek News
June 6, 2003
Two of four unidentified men who were a part of a group of six killed in a joint police/ army operation in Friendship early Wednesday morning were yesterday identified as 20-year-old Scyeon Norton and 17-year-old Hue Hamilton Glasgow.
Norton lived in a squatter shack at 101 Hunter Street, Albouystown, Georgetown; while Glasgow, who was also known as ‘Jeff Male’, was from 94 Brutus Street, Agricola, East Bank Demerara. This brings to four, the number of bodies positively identified. On Wednesday, the police confirmed, as dead, Romel Reman, 21, and Buxtonian Akeem Hack. Two others, known only as ‘Brazilian Buck’ and ‘Wild Buck’ are yet to be identified.
The security forces said the six men died early Wednesday morning after they attempted to shoot their way through two anti-crime cordons in Friendship village.
At Glasgow’s home yesterday, one of his aunts told Stabroek News that the teenager “wan’ turn bad” and had left the home sometime last year.
“We can’ tell the last time we see he...last year he lef and we ain’t know a thing about Jeff...he wan’ turn bad,” the two relatives said.
They said while hearing about the shooting in Friendship, they did not recognize the dead youth from the television photographs. It was not until yesterday morning that someone told the teen’s mother, Verita Glasgow, that her son was dead. The police said Glasgow was a student of Houston Community High School. The teen also leaves to mourn a five-year-old sister.
Meanwhile, at Norton’s home, his pregnant girlfriend was overcome with tears as she recounted her last moments with the man. According to 19-year-old Odessa Blucher, Norton had spent some time with her the night before he was killed. The young woman said Norton left her at about 8 pm to return to the city. The next night she heard that he had been killed.
“I saw it on the news...I ain’t think he shoulda dead like duh,” the teen said tearfully.
Although Norton’s girlfriend was able to recognise him from the photographs on television, it was a different matter for the man’s siblings.
“I tell these girls, ‘Man, I want watch Prime News because I hear of a shooting out. So we turn on the TV and I see this boy in de mud and with a cream pants on, but I didn’t recognize he,” Vanessa Williams recounted.
She said it was not until yesterday morning that someone told her and she went to the mortuary to identify the body.
“I go to the mortuary, but they tell me I got to get a police to ID de body. So I go to CID and get a police and went back.”