ABOUT
eight
heavily-armed
bandits,
dressed
in
black,
yesterday
ambushed
a
Mekdeci
Mining
Company
(MMC)
security
vehicle
in
which
four
guards
were
escorting
toll
collected
from
a
river
bridge
crossing,
killing
two
of
them
and
wounding
the
other
two,
police
and
company
officials
said.
MMC
senior
official,
retired
Colonel
Carl
Morgan,
told
the
Guyana
Chronicle
by
telephone,
the
incident
occurred
about
12:00
h
yesterday
while
the
men
were
on
their
way
to
the
city
and
in
the
vicinity
of
the
Sheribana
Bridge
in
the
Essequibo
River.
He
said
the
men
were
travelling
from
Sherima,
a
location
also
on
the
Essequibo,
with
the
money
which
represented
toll
collection
from
those
using
the
bridge.
Colonel
Morgan
was,
however,
reluctant
to
disclose
the
identity
of
the
dead
men
and
those
who
were
wounded
in
the
ambush,
until,
according
to
him,
their
relatives
were
informed.
Police
named
the
two
dead
as
security
guards
Warren
Hutson
and
Rodwell
Clarke
and
the
two
injured
as
security
guard
Glenmore
Reeves,
47,
of
Tucville
and
Dalton
Walcott,
28,
of
Soesdyke,
East
Bank
Demerara.
Clarke
was
hit
in
the
head
and
Walcott
in
the
left
arm,
and
are
patients
at
the
Georgetown
Public
Hospital
(GHP),
police
said.
Police
in a
press
release
said
the
four
MMC
security
guards
had
collected
the
money
in
three
canisters
at
Sherima
and
were
travelling
to
Georgetown
in
their
vehicle
when
they
came
under
fire
from
the
eight
bandits
at
the
Sheribana
Bridge
area.
The
bandits
took
away
the canisters
with
the
cash
and
the
four
shotguns
carried
by
the
MMC
security
team
and
escaped
from
the
scene,
police
said.
The
vehicle
was
found
abandoned
about
two
miles
away
and
police
suspect
the
armed
gang
may
have
used
the
waterways
to
continue
their
escape,
the
release
added.
Police
ranks
from
Bartica
and
Linden
who,
upon
receiving
the
report
travelled
to
the
area,
are
reportedly
combing
the
area
for
any
clues
that
may
lead
to
the
arrest
of
the
gang.
Roadblocks
have
been
established
at
strategic
locations
as
investigations
continue.
A
SURVIVOR’S
ACCOUNT
Survivor
Glenmore
Reeves,
of
Tucville
Squatting
area
in
Georgetown,
related
that
around
noon
yesterday
the
MMC
vehicle
escorting
cash
for
a
Mekdeci
company
along
the
Wismar/Rockstone
trail,
en
route
to
Happy
Acres,
East
Coast
Demerara,
was
ambushed
by
about
eight
to
nine
heavily
armed
men
who
advanced
towards
the
security
vehicle,
accosted
the
occupants
and
demanded
cash.
At
the
hospital
he
told
nurses,
there
were
four
persons:
Clarke,
Walcott,
Hutson
and
himself.
He,
Clarke
and
Hutson
were
MMC
employees,
and
Walcott
was
said
to
be a
Lance
Corporal
of
the
Guyana
Defence
Force
(GDF).
The
bandits,
all
dressed
in
black,
and armed
with
AK-47
weapons,
were
apparently
lurking
in
the
bushes
along
the
roadside,
and
as
the
security
vehicle
drove
up,
they
advanced
and
opened
fire
on
the
men
in a
shootout
that
lasted
several
minutes,
Reeves
related.
He
was
hit
several
times,
sustained
bullet
wounds
to
the
head,
groin
and
hip.
One
of
the
bullets
which
entered
the
groin,
reportedly
exited
through
the
scrotum.
He
related
that
as
the
drama
unfolded,
he
threw
himself
down,
bleeding
and
in
excruciating
pain,
pretending
to
be
dead,
but
never
lost
consciousness.
At
the
end
of
the
ordeal,
two
of
the
MCC
guards
lay
bullet-riddled
and
dead,
while
the
GDF
rank
lay
bleeding
and
appeared
to
be
unconscious.
Reeves
could
not
say
what
eventually
happened
to
Walcott.
The
bandits,
thinking
he
(Reeves)
was
dead,
turned
their
attention
from
him
and
fled
with
the
cash
from
the
vehicle.
The
survivor
told
nurses
that
even
after
the
men
had
gone,
he
was
so
badly
wounded
and
unable
to
move
that
he
remained
there
for
about
two
hours,
writhing
in
pain,
until
he
eventually
mustered
up
sufficient
strength
to
climb
back
into
the
vehicle
and
drive
off.
Reeves
said
he
managed
to
drive
the
vehicle
for
six
miles,
and
eventually
came
upon
a
truck
heading
into
the
interior.
He
stopped
the
truck
and
related
his
sad
experience.
The
driver
took
him
on
board,
and
transported
him
to
the
Linden
Hospital.
It
was
14:00
h
when
the
truck
arrived
at
the
Linden
Hospital
with
the
badly
wounded
survivor.
A
MOTHER’S
GRIEF
