Berbice. Up to late Monday night, the police were trying to track down a man suspected of throwing a grenade onto the veranda of Chester Fries along Main Road, New Amsterdam.
The fragmentation grenade was removed by a two-man team from the Georgetown police bomb squad around 16:12h, ending several hours of drama and traffic diversion as the police were forced to cordon off two streets for public safety and to wait patiently for the arrival of the bomb squad.
Detective Divisional Officer Superintendant Marlon Chapman headed the team of investigators on the scene. The device, whose safety pin was dislodged, was safely removed. The officers at the Central Police Station received an anonymous call sometime around mid morning advising that a ‘bomb’ was going to be thrown into the building.
A team of investigators rushed to the scene and informed the proprietor of the business complex, which also houses a MoneyGram and a few other services.
The proprietor, Turhan Harris, 39, allowed the police to inspect the lower flat of the property, which was opened for business as usual. But nothing suspicious was found. The party of investigators returned to the station only to be called this time by Harris, who informed them that he received a phone call from a male who told him the grenade was hurled onto the veranda on the eastern side of the building in the upper flat where he resides with his wife and two daughters.
The police could not access the veranda, which is close to the street, via the door since Harris explained that the keys to that lock had been misplaced for some time now. The device was located with its pin dislodged, lying on the concrete floor unexploded.
The bomb squad arrived around 16:00h and entered the lower flat of the building, then one rank used a ladder to climb onto the adjoining shed to gain entry to the veranda, picked up the device,which was reportedly a quarter pound grenade and placed it in an orange explosive bag, which he handed to another rank who was on the shed , and then climbed down. That was the end of the hours-long drama.
After the device was secured, investigators milled around the scene and intently looking at the crowd that had assembled in front of Demico House. Later, three ranks crossed the road and approached two men who were passing and questioned them. After a few minutes, they allowed the men to leave. The operation eventually concluded, and ranks removed the yellow police tape and left.
The disruption affected several nearby businesses including the Chinese Restaurant Lucky House and a grocery store. On the ground, there was some frustration over the many hours consumed just to diffuse a simple situation and several members of the public grumbled at the absence of ranks trained in explosive handling in such a large division.
Many complained about the police top brass’s lack of proactiveness and strategies to tackle extreme crimes in the B Division. The Guyana Fire Service was also on the scene until the danger was contained.
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