By Navendra Seoraj

GUNMEN early yesterday morning opened fire on two security guards at the Movie Towne construction site at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara, leaving them nursing gunshot wounds to their legs.The guards are ranks of the Sentinel Security Services and are working with the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), which won the contract for construction of the Movie Towne Guyana complex at Turkeyen.

According to the head of the site security, Oscar David, those wounded are 50-year-old Stanley Brown of Mahaica, ECD, and 53-year-old David Barrow of West Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

“Guns went off early yesterday morning at the guard hut by intruders, and the two were shot on their legs,” David said.

Both security guards have been admitted to hospital nursing injuries.

David said that based on information he has so far received, the guards returned fire, but their guns unfortunately malfunctioned. The exchange of gunshots, however, raised an alarm, which led to the Chinese workers on site running towards the booth while the bandits made good their escape.

This publication understands that a similar incident occurred last week, when shots were fired, but no one was hit then.

Asked if security measures would be boosted, given that this is the second time such an incident has occurred, the site security head said: “We are trying to fence the area with galvanized sheeting and barbed wire, and also install alarm systems on all the buildings in the compound, where the proposed Movie Towne project is under construction.”

The multiplex cinema, construction of which started last year, is in the early stages of creation. Chinese contractor CHEC had signed a US$30M deal in Trinidad for construction of the Movie Towne complex. The agreement between CHEC and Derek Chin, Chairman of Movie Towne Cineplex, includes construction of entertainment facilities, restaurants and commercial spaces.