Albouystown bloodbath
Shooters targeted man, fired indiscriminately
Injured shop owner loses arm
By Samantha Alleyne and Andre Haynes
Stabroek News
May 7, 2003
Monday night's bloodbath in Albouystown, which left three men dead and seven other persons injured resulted from bad blood between the shooters and one of the victims.
According to sources in the area at the time of the shooting, the gunmen pumped bullets into the body of Richard Bobb, also called `Blackout', 25, of James & La Penitence Street, and threw accusations at him.
On Monday night, many residents in the area had suggested that the shooters had police connections but yesterday morning when Stabroek News returned to the scene residents told a different story stating that one of the shooters went in search of Bobb and after executing him they sprayed the surrounding area indiscriminately with bullets resulting in the deaths of the other two men and injuries to seven persons.
Also killed in the mayhem were, Jerry Eustace Bobb also called `Logie', 59 of Charles-town and Anil Baijnauth, 28, of Albouystown while those injured were Leonard Small, 53, of James & La Penitence Street, Albouystown; Lakraj Ragubir, 37, of Independence Boulevard; Nicholas Faydia, 23; Victor Nelson also called `Weathers', 74, of Charles-town; Audrey Barker, 55, of James Street, Albouystown; Simone Bailey, 24, of Albouystown and seven-year-old Quacy Tapping of Albouystown. The child was shot in his left ankle and has since been discharged from the hospital.
Recounting the incident to Stabroek News, a young man, who used his minibus to transport some of the dead and injured to the hospital, recalled that the men approached the shop on foot at around 8pm.
The young man said that he was in his minibus when he heard rapid gunfire and he ducked in the vehicle. He said around four men ran past him firing in the air indiscriminately and they later joined two motor cars which were parked some corners away from the scene. He said that even after the men entered their vehicles they continued firing.
According to reports, Bar-ker, who lives a few corners away from the shop where the shooting occurred, was shot in the back while the men were returning to their cars.
Stabroek News was told that after the shooting had died down bodies were seen lying on the road, in the shop and on the pavement.
The young man said that he took three persons to the hospital in the mini bus and one of those persons succumbed on the way.
Yesterday he had taken out all of the seats from the minibus which he washed and placed to dry on the pavement.
At the fatal corner many residents converged and were overheard recounting the gruesome story. Black flags were seen around the area.
Relatives of Small, the owner of L. Small Groceries where the shooting occurred and who lost an arm as a result of the gunshot injuries, were seen washing down the bloody pavement outside of the shop.
According to eyewitness accounts, Small, along with Nelson and the older Bobb had been sitting outside of the shop while some of the others who were wounded were seated inside, when a man dressed in a long jersey approached.
Eyewitnesses said the man pulled out a machine gun and opened fire in the direction of the younger Bobb while also spraying the others in the vicinity. From all reports the man's other accomplices were outside standing guard while he committed the act.
The man then turned his attention to Small and his companions who were attempting to flee and it was at this time that both Nelson and the older Bobb were hit. Small sustained gunshot wounds along his left and right shoulders, his left hip, in the abdomen and his right forearm. Even as he lay on the ground, wounded, the man repeatedly shot at Small.
The man along with his accomplices then returned to their waiting vehicles, one of which was parked outside the nearby Star Cinema and the other further east on James Street.
Stabroek News was told by persons close to the Small family that as a result of the injuries he sustained to his left shoulder, where the nerve endings were damaged beyond repair, his arm had to be amputated to save his life.
While Stabroek News was on the scene Tapping was being lifted by a male relative as he cried out for pain in his ankle. The child was in the shop where he was sent to purchase something when he was shot by the gunman.
The younger Bobb resided near the shop with several persons who all described him as a loving character. They could not comprehend why someone would have wanted him dead.
The older Bobb, a former GUYSUCO worker, had gone to the area to purchase a mosquito coil and cigarettes and was with his friends when he was shot.
No one had been aware that he had been one of the casualties of the night and his family was unable to confirm this until yesterday morning when they identified his body at the GPHC morgue.
One of his daughters said she had only seen him five minutes prior to being told that her father had been shot.
"He said he was going home," the young woman said of her father.
His body, relatives said, exhibited the multiple gunshot wounds he sustained to his leg and arm and in the chest and groin areas.
Bobb's family deplored the state of the man's remains, which they said were without many of his personal effects. They said several pieces of clothing, including his shoes were among the missing items.
Bobb is being mourned by his eight children.
And mourning continued at Baijnauth's Lot 90 La Penitence Street, Albouystown. When Stabroek News visited the household yesterday, the 28-year-old man's relatives were still grieving the loss of his life.
His mother Jean told Stabroek News that her son would frequently `lime' at the corner, while neighbours said they had constantly warned the family of the danger in doing so. His mother lamented the tragic loss of her only son's life at such a young age. He is survived by four sisters.
It is suspected that Monday night's shooting was linked to an earlier one the said night which occurred in Laing Avenue. Contacted yesterday the police said they have had no reports of any such shooting.
But residents in that area and in Walker Terrace recalled hearing rapid gunfire in those areas shortly before the bloodbath in Albouystown.
One resident in Laing Avenue had told Stabroek News that two men ran though the avenue at 7:40pm ordering persons to get inside. Some persons did not heed the warning and the men fired shots in the air before running through the streets. Residents said that some seconds after the men left the area a police vehicle sped past as if in pursuit of the men. Stabroek News understands that the two men could have later been involved in the shooting at Albouystown and another one in the same James Street a few hours later.
According to reports three men walked up to a group of men who were sitting at the corner of James & Calendar Streets and opened fire on them after the earlier fatal shooting. One man who was in the group said that the men just walked up and started firing and they had to duck for cover. After the men left it was discovered that one of the men, Paul Harper was injured. He was later admitted to the hospital.
According to reports the three men had a car parked in Sussex Street which they joined and left.
Residents of Albouystown were yesterday still attempting to come to grips with the night's events even though the area has been rocked by a number of shootings and deaths recently.