Reporters can apply for guns

“Our process of acquiring a fiream was open to all who apply,” Greene said, but added that the need had to be justified.

On Wednesday, the owner of the Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall said he was concerned for the safety of his 15 reporters and would increase security and “arm all of them.” The comment followed Tuesday’s attack in which a gang of 15 armed, masked men stormed the Kaieteur News printery in Eccles district and shot security guard Julius De Grace before killing four press room workers—Chetram Persaud, 46, Eion Wegman, 47; Richard Steward, 24 and Mark Mikoo. Shazeem Mohammed, who was also shot, is warded at the Georgetown hospital. Greene said Mohammed is on life support.

No one has yet been apprehended for the murders, however, ballistics matched a spent shell from one of the guns to the .32 revolver belonging to slain businessman Barbot Paul. He was murdered last Sunday at Kaneville and his gun stolen. Greene said the spent shell was matched because the police kept ballistics records of anyone granted a firearm licence.

Greene said the police were canvassing residents for leads and it was a “big area” to cover.

Adam Harris, an editor at the Kaieteur News, said the newspaper may seem a “little more aggressive” than others in accessing information and “a lot of criminals do not like it.”

Harris said a bystander claimed to have heard one of the gunmen say, “Is trouble they want, we will give them trouble.”

A motive for the killing has not yet been determined and he said the newspaper was still trying to find out if there was anything that would spark “such an attack or other factors.”

On December 30, 2002, there was a fire at the press room in which perpetrators doused the area with a flammable liquid and threw a grenade. Harris said no one was apprehended and the paper was not published for a week.

He said the gunmen in Tuesday’s crime got away easily through the back lands which are a large area. Harris said the police did not have the officers to cope because of a 40 percent shortage.

The Guyana Press Association (GPA) said it does not support reporters being armed to protect themselves against attack.

Julia Johnson, president of the GPA, said the association has never supported the arming of reporters. She said in the Guyanese society reporters are often associated with the camp of either the ruling party or the Opposition and this has permeated through to the media.

Dale Enoch, president of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) said he has not liaised with the executive of the association but in his own view, he disagreed that any one group in society carrying guns would help the situation. He said in a volatile society like Guyana during election time, arming reporters was not the answer.