–was previously charged with illegal possession of gun, ammo

By Michel Outridge

MARK Anthony, called “QQ”, a 22-year-old of Lot 1238 Canje Pheasant Lane, South Ruimveldt Park, Georgetown, was gunned down on Thursday night while liming with friends at the shortcut at Layou Street, North Ruimveldt.

The incident reportedly occurred at about 22:00h, when a tinted vehicle pulled up at the location and two men exited and opened fire at Anthony. He was shot in the abdomen, chest and back, and succumbed while receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Mark Anthony’s residence

WE ARE AFRAID
When the Guyana Chronicle visited the crime scene on Friday morning, residents expressed fear and concern at the spate of armed robberies in the area and the frequent gunplay that accompany such incidents. Persons in Layou Street said it is normal for that particular group of young men to be sitting at that spot every night; and they saw when a man walked up to the young men, took out a gun, and started to discharge rounds at Anthony.

A shop owner said she was about to close up for the evening when she heard rapid gunfire and observed three men who were liming at the street corner scaling the front fence in a bid to escape from the gunmen. The trio entered her yard but escaped through an open back gate and hid in the alley.

The frightened woman disclosed that after the gunfire ended, her relatives came out to the verandah and saw Anthony crawling at the side of the yard. He begged them to call a car for him; they complied, and thus he was placed in a Green Ice taxi by his friends and residents and taken to the hospital.

A GOOD PERSON
A pall of gloom permeated the atmosphere at Anthony’s residence as his sister, Malika Wilson, cried while recalling that her brother was at home all day and until the afternoon on Thursday, when he left home.

She said Anthony was unemployed, and would leave home to lime with friends in Layou Street, North Ruimveldt only in the afternoon. Wilson said she was told that two men came up and opened fire at her sibling; who tried to escape, but the men ran after him and continued shooting in his direction.

The shortcut at Layou Street, North Ruimveldt where Anthony was shot

Unaware of the motive for Anthony’s execution-style killing, the grieving Wilson disclosed that a few months ago the police had been picked up her brother for a robbery, but he was released after the victims had failed to point him out during an identification parade.

As to his other runs-in with the law, Wilson said she is certain her loved one had been innocent of those fabricated gun and ammunition charges.

CHEQUERED PAST
Police had, on December 5, 2015, reported that at about 10:30hrs, ranks had stopped a vehicle with “obscure number plates” at Regent Street and Avenue of the Republic, Georgetown. Four occupants had allegedly been in that vehicle. A search had been conducted on the vehicle, and guns and ammunition were unearthed. That interception was made as part of the then Joint Services operation dubbed “Operation Dragnet”, geared towards enhancing national security.

That stop-and-search had spawned the allegation that Lance Corporal Aaron Eastman, 27; Mark Anthony, 22; Andrew Davis-Escott, 25; and Brian Escott, 27, were carrying an unlicensed sawn-off pump action shotgun with matching rounds, and an unlicensed .32 revolver with matching rounds on December 5, 2015 at Robb Street. They were charged with having both the weapons and ammunition without being holders of firearm licences. That charge against Anthony was later dismissed.