THE mysterious shooting death of 14-year-old Ryan Persaud on the

West Bank of Demerara, shifts the society to another realm of extreme lawlessness; total, callous regard for human lives and an utter disregard for the law.
Further, it is symptomatic of the kind of citizen whose perception of being above the law and its prosecutorial arm, issues an unmistakable challenge to the protectors of the state. For those who believe otherwise, this incident ought to bring to reality the total state of public morality.
What is particularly frightening about this extremely dangerous occurrence is that young Ryan was killed almost on his doorstep, with his home and immediate neighbourhood being shot at for some time, prior to his death, according to reports emanating from his family and neighbours. And there is no reason to doubt this, since the reports aired are very logical and corroborative.
Whoever the perpetrator(s) is/are, it leads to the conclusion of the indulgence of target practising. For such seems to have been the reckless scenario, according to the accounts that hinted at the use of high-powered weapons. Is such firepower allowed to the citizenry?  It is even more callous, that given the vast open lands existing on most sections of the Highway that the shooter should want to perfect shooting skills in a direction that is human inhabited, rather than in the former wilds where the possibility for such a tragedy is zero.
As alluded earlier, the question as to whether such firearm type, assuming that such was indeed used, is permitted on licence and for what purpose, must be asked. If so, then there can be no excuse for such utter recklessness on the part of whoever may be responsible, since all firearm licences are accompanied by very strict guidelines as to care and use.
It must bring us to the serious point of firearms, their proliferation in Guyana, and how easy it seems to be to access any make.  And this is based on law enforcement accounts, particularly on illegal arms seized. One may recall during the height of the criminal terror that a suspected rocket launcher attack was carried out on a business place in Georgetown. This should have raised eyebrows as to the array of arsenals easily available.
Ever-so-often, police raids are conducted mostly in Georgetown, during which an illegal firearm or two is seized. Why not extend this essential enforcement exercise to those communities out of the city? Heaven knows what discoveries there may be, as there is the consistent belief that there are weapon stockpiles sold by arms merchants. Then there is the vast and unsupervised border of our hinterland, through which arms are reported to enter Guyana.
There have been also statements to the effect of several reports being made to the police authorities on the West Demerara, before the young teen’s death, and even though there has not been a response as to what investigations had been done, one must ask what steps had been taken to trace the source of the shooting.
But now that the ultimate has taken place, the public expects that this murderous act be thoroughly investigated, and the person(s) responsible for the death of this West Demerara lad be apprehended, brought before the courts and face the full brunt of the law.
Citizens must be protected against this kind of dangerous extreme. This is a clear challenge to the law. It must be broken.