Residents shut down Linden after police shoot, kill two youths

Apr 09, 2025 News

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…protestors, police injured during stand-off

By Shervin Belgrave

Kaieteur News – The mining town of Linden, Region 10 descended into chaos on Tuesday morning, hours after 23-year-old Ronaldo Peters was shot dead by a member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

The residents of Linden have dubbed the shooting death a murder even as the police officer responsible for Peters’ death claims that his gun accidentally went off. The police’s claim was disputed by surveillance footage, which showed him running behind Peters with a gun. Shortly after, the police officer was seen fetching the injured man by his clothes.

As the video footage circulated, residents of the mining town and more specifically the community of Peters were angered. The situation quickly sparked protests, which descended into chaos, resulting in the death of another youth identified as 32-year-old Keon Fogenay, also known as “Dan”, a father of four, the youngest being around 3 years old.

Roads were blocked bringing motor vehicular traffic in the town to a standstill. Several protestors and police officers were injured in violent clashes. The protest began at Half Mile Wismar, Linden, where Peters was killed, but stretched across the Wismar Bridge. Rubber pellets were fired along with tear gas as Lindeners blocked the Bridge with burning tyres. Some protestors say live rounds were also fired into the crowd – one of them killing Fogenay.

One protester alleged that the rank who killed Fogenay during the protest was firing tear gas at the angry crowd, but reportedly stopped what he was doing and pulled out his service weapon and shot the young man who was a neighbour and close friend of the Peters. Protestors reportedly recovered the spent shells as evidence. Meanwhile, speaking with Kaieteur News, Fogenay’s brother, “Ronel” (only name given), said that Fogenay was killed 15 minutes after arriving from Georgetown. “He was not even at the protest, he did just passing through,” Ronel claimed while recounting that he was operating a taxi when he heard that someone was shot at the protests. At the time, he did not know it was his brother, but only later found out when he decided to “go and see who is the victim.”

Fogenay, according to his relatives, was shot in the head. A cellphone recorded video of persons rushing him to the hospital showed him bleeding from a wound around the left eye. News of his death triggered violence, with protestors attacking police officers, forcing them into retreat.

Police officers were caught on video running from protestors as they hurled bottles, bricks and other missiles at them. When Kaieteur News arrived, there was some calm but burning debris, spent shells from the rubber pellets, broken gas bottles, and cannisters of tear gas littered the roadways.

There was no flow of traffic up to press time.

Protestors stood nearby- some of them injured but remained dedicated to keeping the road blocked. They told Kaieteur News that they do not trust the justice system and the police’s word. “We want to see them in handcuffs… We ain’t want hear deh pon close arrest.” Speaking with the media at the scene, Linden Mayor Sharma Solomon said, ” There is no way a second young man should have been shot with live rounds”.

“It is most unfortunate that this is the de-escalating ability of the Guyana Police…to further escalate the matter,” Solomon said. Solomon condemned the killing of both men, describing the killing of Peters as murder. “We using language ‘cause we not being reckless, we saw what we saw and what we saw was a crime. An unarmed man was running and was murdered,” he told the media.

He alleged that two officers involved in the killings are returning officers to Linden. “Who was Kendell (the officer accused of killing Peters)? He left because of those behaviour and attitude. Why did he return?” Solomon rhetorically asked while adding, “Mr. Pilgrim, who shot the second young man… now we know their names, was here in 2012 and did this same bridge work. He was here in 2012, and he was part of that crew.”

Meanwhile, the Police Force, in a statement issued earlier Tuesday, stated that “Police discharged rounds at the crowd in an effort to mitigate the situation where they were burning tires and destroying government infrastructure.” The Force continued, “Additionally, as the police engaged to protesters, they were greeted with missiles” before adding that one of the rounds discharged in retaliation caused the demise of a protester. “The ranks were placed under arrest and the Office of Professional Responsibility has commenced investigations,” police said.

Further, the Police Force disclosed that members of the Regional Security System (RSS) will lead an independent investigation into the killings. President Irfaan Ali also confirmed that the RSS will be assisting the investigation and promised to meet family members. “Do not be instigated to destroy public or private property and infrastructure. Such actions are both unhelpful and unlawful,” he later stated as he urged, “Let good sense prevail. Allow the investigation to run its course and bring clarity to the situation.”

On Tuesday evening, the President visited the relatives of the deceased at the West Watooka Guest House. Businessmen, Azruddin Mohamed, Glenn Lall and members of the opposition also visited Linden and called for peace.

 

 

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• Azruddin Mohamed, Businessmen, Dead: Keon Fogenay, Glenn Lall, Lindeners blocked the Bridge

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