Gunshots were fired on a sustained
basis for "three quarters of an
hour," Latifan told Stabroek
News, and it was only when her son
began calling for her that she
realized he and her grandchildren had
survived.
According to Jitendra the
establishment was robbed two times
before in March 2004 and 2005. In 2004
bandits carted off some $400,000 from
the shop and severely beat up Latifan.
He also related that as the men
were leaving for Paul's house with his
daughter they encountered a minibus
BGG 6246 going into the Second Field
area. Someone in the bus reportedly
remarked, "ya'll don't shoot the
girl." At that point the men spun
around and fired at the bus injuring
one of its passengers. The man,
Neville Bagot, 46, is now in a city
hospital recuperating from wounds to
his left shoulder. The rear windscreen
of the vehicle was damaged.
The deceased man's son speaking
with Stabroek News said that on Sunday
night around 9 pm he received a call
that his father had been involved in a
shoot-out. The young man who did not
want his name mentioned said when he
got to the scene his father was lying
in a pool of blood. He observed wounds
to the temple and upper body and noted
that at the time several onlookers
were on the scene. Among persons there
were the police who did their initial
investigations but have not yet given
them any conclusive information.
Paul's relatives described him as a
free-handed man who never had problems
with anyone. He was also one of a few
Rural Constables in the area and did
contractual work such as
rehabilitation.
Community
policing group
Mohamed Ali, Chairman of the
Citizens Group told Stabroek News that
Paul was involved in attempting to
form a Community Policing Group (CPG).
There was an initial meeting some six
months ago, he said, following which
contact was made with the Ministry of
Home Affairs but no response has so
far been forthcoming. The Community
Chairman said there are bad boys and
petty criminals in the area however,
"for the last couple of months
nothing has been going on now that the
road is being built, this probably
helped to bring the crime rate
down."
Another resident expressed the
opinion that people from all over the
country tend to go there because
Kaneville is a squatting area. Some of
those who come in are criminal-minded.
Ali himself has been a victim of
robbery as bandits attacked his home
in August of 2005. This, he said, has
left such an emotional scar on his
daughter that even if a piece of wood
drops to the floor she is scared.
He mentioned that in the past some
persons had approached him to
intervene and ask Paul to stop firing
his gun indiscriminately. Paul did
this to scare off bandits. They
thought this was a good cover for
thieves though Ali was of the belief
that Paul had some influence in
chasing petty criminals out of the
area. He suggested however that the
shooting on Sunday could have been an
instance where persons heard the shots
and thought it was Paul up to his
usual antics.
Paul was an ex-soldier who was very
vocal about the level of crime in his
village. In May 2005 Paul had
expressed the belief that a gunman who
attacked a wedding house in Craig,
held several hostages, killed two
persons and wounded one in the
process, had ended up there after
initially attacking his premises in
Kaneville.
On that occasion Paul said he had
just arrived home, closed his gate and
was heading towards his steps when he
heard shuffling feet and rustling
grass in his backyard. At the same
time he said his dogs began to bark.
An alert Paul whipped out his licensed
firearm and started to shoot
indiscriminately in the bushes causing
around five men to flee. Paul recalled
that all five men ran in different
directions, leaving behind a green
bag, which contained three jerseys,
one tin of mace spray, one Rolex
wristwatch and a pair of scissors.
Paul observed also that one of the men
who would later attack the wedding
house sped to his front yard and
scaled the fence. According to Paul,
the man ran down a dam, which leads to
Craig and it was his view that the man
might have gone to the wedding
reception. Once the men disappeared,
Paul and neighbours gathered around
for a while before retiring to bed.
When Ali's home was robbed in
August 2005 Paul was vocal in his
criticism of the ruling and opposition
parties, blaming them both for the
crime situation. Commenting on the
situation in Kaneville he told
Stabroek News, "It is my opinion
that Kaneville will soon become a
village harbouring criminals. At
present residents are living in
fear...gunmen robbing us every night
and nothing is being done."
Lamenting the frequency with which
robberies were being committed in the
village, Paul said something had to be
done quickly. He urged the government
to enact stiffer laws to deal with gun
crimes and at the same time speed up
developmental works in the community
saying many persons were afraid to
stay in their homes while others do
not walk the streets after a certain
hour. Paul had said police should
establish an outpost in the scheme and
conduct frequent patrols.
Paul, a divorcee, has left to mourn
his reputed wife, four children and
six grandchildren.
Something burning
When Stabroek News visited Bagot
yesterday afternoon in the hospital,
his upper left side was bandaged.
Recalling what happened Bagot
stated that he and some friends had
been drinking when he was offered a
ride home from a friend who had a
mini-bus.
While in Kaneville he heard a
single gunshot, unfortunately no one
thought anything of it and they
continued their journey. They drove a
few yards to a turn and were met with
rapid gunfire.
"I feel something burning in
my back and then I see the blood
gushing down. I turn and I starting
telling them that I get shoot.
Everybody went down on the ground and
then the three of them ran out of the
bus and left me".
It was another friend who was in
the area, Bagot said, who took him to
the hospital.
Bagot told this newspaper that
since his admission on Sunday night he
has been bleeding profusely and he
pointed out several large bloodstains
on his bed sheet.
According to the injured man, a man
had visited him earlier and identified
himself as a policeman from the
Brickdam Police Station. The man, he
said, did not ask him much or stay
long at his bedside. Bagot could not
confirm if anyone else from his bus
was injured during the attack.
According to a police press release
while manning a roadblock on the Grove
Public Road around 9:20 pm, ranks
observed four men getting off a
minibus approaching the roadblock. The
men were stopped and searched and the
police found a .38 special revolver
with one round on one of them. The
four men were arrested and are in
police custody.
The police recovered nine spent
shells and two warheads from the
scene. Investigations are continuing.
