Barbot Paul, a Kaneville shop owner who had been an outspoken fighter against crime was shot dead by gunmen on Thursday night who then stole his firearm and tried to get his shotgun out of a safe.

    Ex-army-officer-David-Clarke   Ex- soldier Gibson shot dead  Fifty-three-year-old woman like a "football". 

A passenger in a mini-bus was injured during the assault and the police later arrested four men who could possibly be part of the gang that launched the attack. On Sunday evening while Paul, 54, and his reputed wife Latifan Ali, 54, were about to close the doors to S and N Sunrise Flat Shop at Kaneville, seven bandits swarmed the premises and shot the man dead.

Latifan, who hid while the bandits sprayed a steady stream of bullets around the business establishment located at 445 Second Field, Kaneville, related that around 9:05 pm she was about to start closing the business while Paul stood at the entrance. At that time, "a boy with a gun and mask stepped up to the entrance of the store and began to shoot. Paul fired back and tell me to run." When she rushed into the house her two grandchildren Mustafa and Nazeema Persaud, 9 and 15 respectively, were watching a DVD. Her son Jitendra Persaud was also there. She was able to conceal herself at the back. Her son and grandson were also able to hide from the gunmen. Unfortunately Nazeema had locked herself in a bedroom and the bandits attempted to kick the door down. She told the men to stop and came out of the room. Holding her at gunpoint the men demanded the key to Paul's safe where he kept his licensed shotgun and which was situated at his house two corners away.

The men led her to Paul's property at 312 Second Field, Kaneville. While there they shot at the safe in an attempt to open it but were not successful, Latifan told Stabroek News. The men then returned to the shop where they let Nazeema go. One of them reportedly stated, "Finish her." However a member of the gang thought it would be wise to let her go and they did.

 Riddling Paul with their high-powered weapons 

 

The woman who said she was still shaken after the ordeal noted that after riddling Paul with their high-powered weapons the gunmen took his licensed .32 Taurus pistol. Jitendra told Stabroek News the men also stripped Paul of his jewellery, including a chain, cricket band and ring before taking the shop's earnings for the day and three cell phones.

Gunshots were fired on a sustained basis for "three quarters of an hour," Latifan told Stabroek News, and it was only when her son began calling for her that she realized he and her grandchildren had survived.

Kaieteur News

According to Jitendra the establishment was robbed two times before in March 2004 and 2005. In 2004 bandits carted off some $400,000 from the shop and severely beat up Latifan.

He also related that as the men were leaving for Paul's house with his daughter they encountered a minibus BGG 6246 going into the Second Field area. Someone in the bus reportedly remarked, "ya'll don't shoot the girl." At that point the men spun around and fired at the bus injuring one of its passengers. The man, Neville Bagot, 46, is now in a city hospital recuperating from wounds to his left shoulder. The rear windscreen of the vehicle was damaged.

The deceased man's son speaking with Stabroek News said that on Sunday night around 9 pm he received a call that his father had been involved in a shoot-out. The young man who did not want his name mentioned said when he got to the scene his father was lying in a pool of blood. He observed wounds to the temple and upper body and noted that at the time several onlookers were on the scene. Among persons there were the police who did their initial investigations but have not yet given them any conclusive information.

Paul's relatives described him as a free-handed man who never had problems with anyone. He was also one of a few Rural Constables in the area and did contractual work such as rehabilitation.

Community policing group

Mohamed Ali, Chairman of the Citizens Group told Stabroek News that Paul was involved in attempting to form a Community Policing Group (CPG). There was an initial meeting some six months ago, he said, following which contact was made with the Ministry of Home Affairs but no response has so far been forthcoming. The Community Chairman said there are bad boys and petty criminals in the area however, "for the last couple of months nothing has been going on now that the road is being built, this probably helped to bring the crime rate down."

Another resident expressed the opinion that people from all over the country tend to go there because Kaneville is a squatting area. Some of those who come in are criminal-minded.

Ali himself has been a victim of robbery as bandits attacked his home in August of 2005. This, he said, has left such an emotional scar on his daughter that even if a piece of wood drops to the floor she is scared.

He mentioned that in the past some persons had approached him to intervene and ask Paul to stop firing his gun indiscriminately. Paul did this to scare off bandits. They thought this was a good cover for thieves though Ali was of the belief that Paul had some influence in chasing petty criminals out of the area. He suggested however that the shooting on Sunday could have been an instance where persons heard the shots and thought it was Paul up to his usual antics.

Paul was an ex-soldier who was very vocal about the level of crime in his village. In May 2005 Paul had expressed the belief that a gunman who attacked a wedding house in Craig, held several hostages, killed two persons and wounded one in the process, had ended up there after initially attacking his premises in Kaneville.

On that occasion Paul said he had just arrived home, closed his gate and was heading towards his steps when he heard shuffling feet and rustling grass in his backyard. At the same time he said his dogs began to bark. An alert Paul whipped out his licensed firearm and started to shoot indiscriminately in the bushes causing around five men to flee. Paul recalled that all five men ran in different directions, leaving behind a green bag, which contained three jerseys, one tin of mace spray, one Rolex wristwatch and a pair of scissors. Paul observed also that one of the men who would later attack the wedding house sped to his front yard and scaled the fence. According to Paul, the man ran down a dam, which leads to Craig and it was his view that the man might have gone to the wedding reception. Once the men disappeared, Paul and neighbours gathered around for a while before retiring to bed.

When Ali's home was robbed in August 2005 Paul was vocal in his criticism of the ruling and opposition parties, blaming them both for the crime situation. Commenting on the situation in Kaneville he told Stabroek News, "It is my opinion that Kaneville will soon become a village harbouring criminals. At present residents are living in fear...gunmen robbing us every night and nothing is being done."

Lamenting the frequency with which robberies were being committed in the village, Paul said something had to be done quickly. He urged the government to enact stiffer laws to deal with gun crimes and at the same time speed up developmental works in the community saying many persons were afraid to stay in their homes while others do not walk the streets after a certain hour. Paul had said police should establish an outpost in the scheme and conduct frequent patrols.

Paul, a divorcee, has left to mourn his reputed wife, four children and six grandchildren.

Something burning

When Stabroek News visited Bagot yesterday afternoon in the hospital, his upper left side was bandaged.

Recalling what happened Bagot stated that he and some friends had been drinking when he was offered a ride home from a friend who had a mini-bus.

While in Kaneville he heard a single gunshot, unfortunately no one thought anything of it and they continued their journey. They drove a few yards to a turn and were met with rapid gunfire.

"I feel something burning in my back and then I see the blood gushing down. I turn and I starting telling them that I get shoot. Everybody went down on the ground and then the three of them ran out of the bus and left me".

It was another friend who was in the area, Bagot said, who took him to the hospital.

Bagot told this newspaper that since his admission on Sunday night he has been bleeding profusely and he pointed out several large bloodstains on his bed sheet.

According to the injured man, a man had visited him earlier and identified himself as a policeman from the Brickdam Police Station. The man, he said, did not ask him much or stay long at his bedside. Bagot could not confirm if anyone else from his bus was injured during the attack.

According to a police press release while manning a roadblock on the Grove Public Road around 9:20 pm, ranks observed four men getting off a minibus approaching the roadblock. The men were stopped and searched and the police found a .38 special revolver with one round on one of them. The four men were arrested and are in police custody.

The police recovered nine spent shells and two warheads from the scene. Investigations are continuing.