Angry mob attacks Berbice man

…houses stoned; vehicles damaged

Residents of two homes in East Canje, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), experienced life-threatening experiences on Monday morning when an angry mob attacked two houses at Canefield, damaging windows, vehicles and killing birds.
They were reportedly armed with cutlasses, sticks, iron bars, stones, bottles and pieces of chain.

The damage which occurred on Monday morning when an angry mob attacked two houses at Canefield, Berbice

They first attacked the home of 51-year-old Mayleen Ramsammy of Lot 1190 East Canefield, East Canje.
After they left, they went to the home of her 25-year-old son, Arrvin Doodnauth, at Lot 23 New Area Canefield, where missiles were also used to break windows.
Three motorcycles were damaged and two caged birds killed.
Ramsammy said at about 07:30h a noisy group of persons marched into her yard and asked for her son. At the time, six persons were at home including two children.
“The people dem come by my gate and start cuss and say they looking for my son.”
She said she tried to find out what was the matter and pleaded with the angry mob to find an amicable way to resolve the situation. However, this did not work.
“We gon murder all you all today… then they open the gate and come in. About twenty-one of them,” Ramsammy recounted.
At the time, her husband, who was sitting under the house having breakfast, ran into the house and locked the door while Ramsammy ran to the back and hid behind a water tank.
She said they began to break her windows and one person attempted to go through but had difficulty getting past the wooden bars. Ramsammy explained that she watched in fear, knowing that her two grandchildren were in the house.
A television set which is valued at $200,000 was also damaged in the process.
“The TV was right by the window and it fall down and break.”
Shortly after that, the group left and headed out of the street.
Meanwhile, Ramsammy’s son, a taxi driver, said when they came to his home they broke the door in an attempt to gain access to the building which also had two children.
“We were frightened; me and my other brother we try bracing the door and my next brother was upstairs, but we keep bracing the door because we think that the people coming in the house,” he explained.
Doodnauth said that there were both males and females destroying the building. He said there were more than twenty persons.
He believes that the incident stemmed from his involvement in an incident the previous night.
He explained that on Sunday evening he was dropping off a passenger and was turning into a street that was blocked by a bicycle. He asked the owner to remove the bicycle and he refused. However, the passenger removed the bicycle so that the car could pass.
“When the man move the bicycle and I pass, the man get up and snatch me on my hand and start slapping me. And I ask him what wrong with him, but another boy tell me not to worry with him because it looks like he tripping [going insane].”
Doodnauth further added they he met the man with the bicycle again after his shift had ended.
“I see him back on the same culvert and I go and I slap he back and then I see a whole set of them coming…”
However, it was not until the following morning that the houses were attacked.
Doodnauth said when the mob went to his house, the females were instructing the men.
“‘Kill them, kill them,’ that is what the ladies saying.”
Several windows and a door were damaged. Doodnauth said there were damages to a barber’s chair, an electric hair cutting machine, two birdcages and the birds were also killed while the electricity meter and a sound system were also damaged along with three motorbikes.
“The motorbikes is about $800,000, the one with the trade plate is not two weeks yet since we buy it.”
According to Doodnauth, his cellular phone which was under the house was stolen by someone.
He said losses are estimated at more than $1 million while his mother has put her losses in the vicinity of $300,000.
Police have reportedly arrested several persons after the matter was reported.
Police are said to be investigating.