POLICE are investigating an alleged murder of Ashanti Liverpool, a 24-year-old security officer at Dazzel Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara (ECD) around 01:00 hrs on Tuesday.
According to information from the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the suspect, a 31-year-old security officer of Haslington, ECD, shared a common-law relationship with the victim’s sister.

Enquiries revealed that, around 00:20 hrs on Tuesday, the suspect went to the Hong Kong Chinese Supermarket located at Good Hope, ECD, where he met a 23-year-old security officer (co-worker), who at the time, was armed with one AR-15 Rifle and eight live rounds of ammunition.

Police said the suspect told the security officer that the supervisor sent him to collect the rifle.
“The security officer mentioned that he made several calls to his supervisor via cellphone, which went unanswered. The suspect collected the firearm with ammunition and went away,” GPF said.

The police further said the suspect had earlier gone to the girlfriend’s home and saw her sitting inside a car parked in front of her house.
“As such, he left, went to Good Hope and returned about 30 minutes later armed with the AR-15 Rifle, where he entered the house and met Ashanti, who was at home in bed,” police said.

He asked about her sister’s whereabouts, who had left the house a short while before he (the suspect) arrived.
As a result, Ashanti ran outside, where she made her way out of the yard and started heading east along the access road when the suspect opened fire at her with the rifle.

Ashanti continued running and collapsed in a nearby yard. The suspect then went onto his motorcycle and left the scene, Police said.

“The suspect proceeded to Hong Xing Supermarket at Industry Railway Embankment, ECD, where he met with another colleague, a 29-year-old security officer, who at the time was armed with one AR-15 Rifle with six live matching rounds of ammunition,” the police reported.

The suspect told his colleague that he needed his help in clearing the rifle which he had in his possession because one round was stuck in the firearm.
The colleague collected the rifle from the suspect and attempted to clear it outside the Supermarket, leaving his firearm inside the supermarket where the suspect was.

While doing this, the colleague heard a loud explosion from inside the supermarket, and after checking, he noticed the suspect on the ground. He went to his aid, where he saw what appeared to be blood coming from the left side of his chest and the firearm beside him.

A patrol from the Sparendaam Police Station was summoned, and the suspect was picked up in an unconscious state and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. On his arrival, he was admitted, nursing a single gunshot wound to the chest. His condition is considered critical. He is presently under guard at the hospital as investigations continue.