By Svetlana Marshall

OUTRAGED over the reckless shooting to death of Colin Perreira by a licensed firearm holder, Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan has underscored the importance of having holders of firearm licences constantly reviewed. The Security Minister explained that while persons would have initially qualified for the acquisition of a firearm licence, many of them would have become ineligible as they aged.
“Some of these people get old, they get mentally depressed,” he said, while emphasising that the process to repossess the licences of persons no longer eligible to have a weapon will commence soon.
This initiative, springing from weekly Cabinet discussions and some lobbying by colleague ministers, is supposed to target those who no longer need a firearm, are mentally unfit, or were wrongly issued firearm licences.
Commenting on Tuesday night’s shooting, the Security Minister said he received the news with much sadness.
“It is an extremely sad story. I could not believe that someone, from what I am being told, just see a car turning into his driveway, and then he comes down like a cowboy and starts shooting. We got a lot of people who are not mentally sound in this place with firearms,” he said.
Perreira, 24, of 213 Barr Street, Kitty, Georgetown, was shot dead and his female friend critically injured, after they were riddled with bullets by a businessman while in the vicinity of Perry Street, Tucville. The businessman, identified as Robert Benn, opened fire on the couple who were in a car based on his suspicion that they were bandits.
Persons undeserving of firearm licences could include those with criminal records acquired before or subsequent to receiving a firearm licence, who maintained possession of their firearms, regardless; and those who accessed a shortcut in legally acquiring a weapon. Allegations did surface that the full application process was not being utilized, thus persons were making money off the sale of gun licences.
The Guyana Police Force, in collaboration with information technology company Brains Street, is designing and building an integrated crime information system to allow inter-agency access by security forces to various types of crime-related information. Ramjattan said the programme is moving along, but more equipment has to be acquired to facilitate the national network.
A special “firearm management system” is included in the crime information system to help the agencies determine the legality of a firearm holder, since such persons would be listed in a database of registered gun holders. The firearm management system would also provide a paper trail as to how a gun was acquired, since it would show the steps that were taken, all the way to the Firearm Licensing Board.
Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud and divisional commanders who are the first set of authorities to be approached in the licensing process, will help review licences to determine whether they should be renewed.