2 men kill each other in violent confrontation over ECD woman

A violent confrontation between two men in Bare Root, East Coast of Demerara (ECD), on Saturday morning left both of them dead in what residents revealed was a dispute over a woman. Dead are Joshua James, 22, also known as “Racoon,” and Jonathan Hassan, 26, also called “Cutto/Nico”, a father of one. The incident occurred at about 09:00h at the woman’s house at Bare Root. According to reports, the two men became involved in a heated argument, allegedly over a woman, which quickly escalated into a knife fight. Both men are said to have inflicted stab wounds on each other. One resident recounted the shocking scene to Guyana Times and said that the situation could have been avoided. “Both of them, after fighting over the girl, just hugged each other and started stabbing each other, and both of them died. One of the guys that died – the girl is his child’s mother. They fought over her; both of them dead, and she is still standing. They lost their lives stupidly,” the resident recalled. Meanwhile, an eyewitness at the scene told the publication of the events leading up to the deaths. “He (Hassan) was going up to the shop; the three of we was there: me, the owner of the shop where he died, and another guy. We were standing up there, gaffing…when I looked, I saw the guy (Hassan) banked (the corner) with the motorbike. He stopped at the shop. I saw blood all over his skin, and I thought he crashed with the bike, and he came here for assistance. When he came, he couldn’t get off; I went, held the bike so he could come off and sit down.” “I asked him what happened. Who juk you up because his skin was all over with blood? He just kept tossing, and tossing, and tossing. Then he turned and said it was a boy in his child’s mother’s house. We tried to get him to the hospital. The owner for the show went to get his car to take him, and while doing that, he made one last kick, stretched out, and trembled. After that, I knew he was dead, so we called the police and ambulance,” the resident recalled. “…I saw slashes on his hand and blood pouring from the left side of his chest. I feel like he got stabbed in the heart. It like he was heading home… but he couldn’t make it,” one of the eyewitnesses said.

“I can’t believe my brother is dead”
Meanwhile, Hassan’s sister, Jessica Hassan, confirmed to reporters that the confrontation occurred at her brother’s child’s mother’s residence. “The child mother told me that my brother got bore. She said she had somebody inside the house, and my brother, Nico, went there. She told me Nico was confronted, and the boy who was staying there said that he didn’t appreciate my brother coming there, and they had an argument, and things escalated. The child mother told me Nico stabbed the guy, but when I found out, both ended up stabbing each other,” the grieving woman related. The sister added that her brother frequently visited the house to see his one-year-old child, and she never believed this would have escalated to this magnitude. “He normally goes there to see his child, take stuff for him, or bring him by me so he can play with the kids. I never expected something like this to happen. I can’t believe my brother is lying down here. I can’t believe my brother is dead,” she said.

Not in relationship
Nevertheless, a relative of Hassan’s child’s mother told this publication that while Hassan has a child with the woman, they were allegedly not in a relationship. The relative said on Saturday, Hassan went to his child’s home, and while there, he asked his child’s mother to braid his hair. The relative said that while braiding Hassan’s hair, James pulled up in his vehicle, saw Hassan at the house, and told him that he should not be visiting. It was then, according to the woman’s relative, that Hassan became angry and allegedly went for a knife and began stabbing James. In the process, James stabbed Hassan also. Following the incident, police secured the area, and the bodies were removed from the scenes. Up to press time on Saturday, police have not released a statement on the issue.