Security guards hospitalised after trading bullets with gunmen

Feb 05, 2016 News

Security guards Stanley Brown, 50, of Mahaica, ECD, and David Barrow, 53, of West Ruimveldt,

Stanley Brown

Georgetown are hospitalised, nursing one gunshot each to their instep, after an encounter with gunmen yesterday.
The two men are attached to Sentinel Security Service which is contracted to provide security for China Harbour Engineering Corporation at the Turkeyen construction site for night shift workers. At that location works are progressing for the Movie Town Cinemas.
According to the police the two men were on duty at the Movietown construction site, Pattensen Road Turkeyen, ECD, when they were confronted by two men, one of whom was armed.
There was an exchange of gunfire during which Stanley Brown was struck to his right foot and David Barrow to his left foot. The perpetrators managed to escape.
Both Brown and Barrow were admitted to hospital.
Oscar David, site engineer Safety Officer of the China Harbor Engineering Corporation while visiting the men at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Georgetown Hospital said the incident occurred just after 03:30hrs yesterday.
“When I arrived at the site I was told that guns went off at the guard booth which was invaded by two intruders. The two security Guards who were in the guard booth were shot in their instep and the police recovered one spent shell,” David said.
David told this publication that the security guards reacted by attempting to respond with gunfire but things

David Barrow

did not go in their favour.
“Our guards reacted by firing their guns which did not react the way they should. But at that time an alarm was raised and as the Chinese workers who were working on the site at the time began running towards the guard booth the intruders made good their escape.”
When asked if it was an attempted robbery David could not give a definite answer. He said “because of the fact that guards were shot and no one else, we cannot say for sure if it was a robbery or not”.
The safety officer also noted that just last week there was similar situation during which a robbery was attempted and shots were fired but no one was hurt on that occasion.
David said that efforts are in train to fence the location with galvanized sheeting and barbed wire as part of security measures, with a double-fence system. Additionally, he said following this incident, efforts will be made to install alarm systems on all the buildings on the compound.