Latest update December 25th, 2024 1:10 AM
Latest News
- Guyanese losing millions from Govt. and Opposition’s failure to to manage oil sector
- ‘Guyana’s Stabroek Block success is like a Michelin Star Restaurant’ – Exxon official
- Gaza appeals for help as Israeli army attacks key hospitals
- Face the Press, Mr. President!
- State makes application to revoke Brutus’ bail
Canadian crime prevention advisor shot during seawall mugging
For three months since his arrival in Guyana, United Nations Crime Prevention Specialist, Peter Faulhaber, has been jogging along the seawall without incident, but on Sunday things turned out differently.
Faulhaber, 56, was shot in the right foot by one of two bandits who attacked him around 17:50 hours and relieved him of his i-pod.
The incident occurred in the full view of many other persons who were also exercising on the seawall in the vicinity of the University of Guyana Access Road.
Speaking to members of the media from his hospital bed in the High Dependency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital, Faulhaber, a former policeman from Canada, said that he was taking his usual evening walk on the seawall when “two fellows jumped me”.
UN Crime Prevention Advisor Peter Faulhaber in hospital.
He said that following a very short scuffle, one of the bandits whipped out a gun and shot him in the foot and then relieved him of the electronic gadget.
“It was over in a few seconds,” he recalled.
“I didn’t see the gun until the last minute, so thinking they didn’t have a gun, yeah, I thought I could scuffle with them. There were only two of them. The minute I saw the gun, it just went bang! It was that quick,” Faulhaber said.
The men he said escaped unchallenged, one on a bicycle and the other on foot.
But while the security specialist was angered by the brazenness of the attack his spirit was lifted by the assistance rendered to him by some very kindhearted passersby.
“I was bleeding and not coherent… I didn’t want to bleed out, so I asked one of them for a belt and tied myself up. Shortly after, some young men came up, I begged them to carry me to the curb and then somebody flagged down a car. I got in the car and some very kind kids, teenagers drove me right here (in the hospital).”
Falhaber said that he was amazed at the interest shown by the youths towards his welfare.
He said that they even contacted his wife, Mary, and personally brought her to the hospital.
“As for the incident it was straightforward; it was a mugging and I didn’t see the gun until it went off,” Faulhaber said.
“I was angry; I want to kill these guys. Come on,” he added. The former Canadian cop said that what was shocking was that the incident occurred in broad daylight.
Ironically, Faulhaber is an advisor on crime prevention. He has been in Guyana since early March.
“It just stares you in the face, the whole irony of the thing. The kids had a drop on me and you know I just fell victim to something that happens here anyway,” Faulhaber stated.
He said that following the incident, several thoughts have flown through his head including quitting and going back home.
“But I’m assigned to do some work and I’ll do my best to do it. I’m also on loan to CARICOM and a few other things, so I don’t know. The jury’s out. I might have to be medi-vaced to another city … head offices in Vienna are well advised and they will figure something out. I was very lucky…that they missed an artery and didn’t shatter a bone,” Faulhaber, who had been a cop for 26 years, explained.
His wife Mary, who has been in Guyana for only a week now, was overwhelmed by the kindness shown by the persons who assisted her husband.
“It was the kindness that came out of this. The woman that helped overwhelmed me with her kindness. It was such a hard time for me that there was somebody to help,” Mary Faulhaber told members of the media.
She said that since she has been in Guyana, she has been accompanying her husband on his daily exercise routines, since he had assured her that it was safe to do so.
However on Sunday she was not feeling too well and decided against going on the seawall.
The police were informed about the incident and according to a press release, investigations are ongoing.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animals!
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- Ah, Christmas—the season of goodwill, good cheer, and, let’s not forget, good riddance!... more
Breaking the Chains of Poverty: A need for political will
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The year 2024 has underscored a grim reality: poverty continues to be an unyielding... more
Weekend Cartoon
