Keep guns away from ‘depressed’ persons - Police warn

Keep guns away from ‘depressed’ persons – Police warn

Aug 13, 2016 News

Relatives of persons who are experiencing any form of mental illness, are being urged to always keep

Dead: Deryck Kanhai

an eye on their loved ones, and if those individuals have firearms in their possession, then take them away.
This is the advice of senior police officials in light of a recent incident at North Road, Georgetown, where a popular miner, Theodore Adams called “Totie,” who was said to be seeing a psychiatrist, opened fire on his wife, Sarojni Warnauth, before killing himself.
Medical sources confirmed that the 73-year-old man was suffering from a severe case of depression.
“He was a businessman, he was issued a firearm and years later, he became ill. We wouldn’t know that, it is the family’s duty to keep the firearm away from him or inform the police, because you don’t know what may happen,” a police source pointed out.
Kaieteur News was told that a week before the tragedy, Adams was “on the edge” and might have “tripped” before the attack.
Warnauth’s daughter reportedly told police that her mother had “just dished out dinner” for Adams, when he accused her of mixing poison in his meal.
There are reports that the miner had been claiming that persons wanted to kill him.
Relatives, who asked not to be named, said that the miner started suffering from a mental breakdown when he suspected his wife had cheated on him some years ago. They insist his illness was not severe.
“It doesn’t matter if their illness is not severe, once they are depressed, take the weapon away and let them seek help,” one senior police official warns.
Meanwhile, 42-year-old Sarojni Warnauth is in a stable condition in a private hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. She has to undergo another surgery soon to remove a bullet that is lodged in her throat.
SIMILAR INCIDENT

Dead: Theodore ‘Totie’Adams

In November 2013 a similar incident occurred where a miner, who had been suffering from some form of mental illness, went berserk and killed four persons, including two policemen, at the junction of Middle and East Streets.
Deryck Kanhai traded bullets with policemen for almost three hours until he was eventually shot and killed.
The miner went on a killing spree, in a fit of rage that reportedly stemmed from his anger as a result of his 25-year-old lover walking out on him a week before he went “completely” berserk.
In the shootout, Police Lance Corporal, Michael Forde of Dennis Street, Sophia and Constable Sherwayne Pantlitz were shot dead by Kanhai. This was after he had killed a 38-year-old mother of three, Vanessa Vyphuis, of North Ruimveldt, a dispatcher at Crown Cabs Taxi Service, which was headquartered in the bottom flat of the miner’s house on Middle Street, and 75-year-old security guard Hugh Paul, popularly known as Bonny.
At the time Adams and Kanhai applied for firearm licences, they were not experiencing any form of mental illness, hence their requests were granted. However, senior police officials believe that it is the job of their relatives to keep the police informed of any deterioration in their health.
“We do not want another incident like the one that happened in 2013 or last Wednesday night,” the officers stressed.

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