…three protestors, two GDF ranks injured as shotgun pellets used to disperse unruly crowds
THREE men, armed with cutlasses, early yesterday morning, set fire to the One Mile Primary School at Wismar, Linden, after breaking into the building and stealing computers. The building was destroyed, a police report said yesterday.
Investigations so far have revealed that the security guard on duty was approached by the three men who threatened to kill her if she did not remove from the location or if she attempted to raise an alarm.
The guard left the compound after which the building was broken into and computers stolen, then the building was set afire.
Once again the Guyana Fire Service fire tender could not get to the scene of the fire owing to the blockages that had been placed along the roadways by protestors.
Later yesterday, residents of the Linden community brought in and handed over two men to the police at Wismar Police Station, who they claimed were suspects in the attack on the One Mile Primary School. The two men are in police custody assisting with the investigations.
Yesterday morning the Joint Services began clearing blockages set up by protestors at the western end of the Wismar-Mackenzie Bridge, along Burnham Drive, Half Mile, One Mile, Wisroc, and along a number of adjoining cross streets in the Wismar area.
During the clearing of the blockages the police had to resort to the use of tear smoke to disperse large unruly crowds of persons who were preventing the Joint Services from removing the obstacles.
While clearing blockages along the roadways in the Wismar Old Housing Scheme and One Mile areas, large crowds of persons confronted the Joint Services ranks and began throwing molotov cocktails and missiles at them, which included bricks, bottles and pieces of metal. The police resorted to the use of tear smoke grenades, some of which were picked up by the protestors and thrown back at the Joint Services ranks.
Molotov cocktails thrown by the protestors damaged one of the machines used by the Joint Services to clear the debris, and one of the rank’s uniform caught fire, but was quickly put out.
The police were forced to use shotgun pellets to disperse the hostile crowds, and so far reports indicate that three men have been injured.
They are Ray Wills, 52, of Wismar Old Housing Scheme, who was injured to his right foot; Marlon Richardson, 19, of Victory Valley Hill, who was injured to his right foot; and Michael Wills, 24 years, of Wismar Old Housing Scheme, who was injured to his right thigh. They were taken to the Mackenzie Hospital by the Joint Services ranks where they were admitted for medical treatment.
In addition two ranks of the Guyana Defence Force were accidentally hit by pellets and received injuries to the face and the hand. They have received medical attention and have rejoined their unit at Linden.