Guyana Times columnist Ryhaan Shah’s car hijacked at gunpoint

Gun-wielding bandits on Saturday afternoon attacked and hijacked a motorcar from Guyana Times columnist and cultural activist and novelist Ryhaan Shah outside her Irving Street, Georgetown home. The incident occurred sometime around 13:20h as the woman pulled up in front her house.
Speaking with this publication, a traumatised Shah recalled that she arrived home and exited the vehicle to open the gate, when she was pounced upon.

“There was this guy with a gun and he scrambled me… in reacting, I was trying to fight back in a sense, and then next thing I knew he was scrambling my hand. I thought he was after my watch, but he took the car keys out of my hands.”
Shah, who was also a nominee for the GECOM Chair on the Opposition Leader’s first list disclosed that there were two other perpetrators nearby and the gunman threw the keys to one of his accomplices. The trio then hopped into the silver-grey Toyota Allion motorcar, bearing registration number PLL 1127, and immediately drove off.
“I stood out there screaming and shouting for thief but nobody helped. It happened so quickly, in a matter of a couple seconds.”
When asked, Shah could not say where the men appeared from or if they were nearby waiting on her.
“I wasn’t paying attention to who was there… It’s a busy road, and there is a bus stop right there so if you see people standing around you wouldn’t think much of it. I wasn’t conscious that I was in any danger or that there was anyone around looking at me. It was just very, very sudden.”
According to Shah, a neighbour saw what transpired and called the Police.
“She too said the guys suddenly appeared and then, she realised it was a robbery and immediately called 911 and give them the number of the car and the direction in which they went.”
Shah noted that the woman had her son in the vehicle, so she could not have given chase after the hijackers. Nevertheless, she assisted in taking the political activist to the Alberttown Police Station to make a report.
“I don’t know if they’ve taken the car to go and do a robbery, and will then abandoned it after or if they going to strip the car.” The woman believes that the perpetrators were watching her for some time and knew her movements.
“I think they had probably seen me coming in before and know that I’m alone… So they thought she’s vulnerable and it’s probably easy to attack her.”
Shah further detailed that the hijackers were not masked and while she did not get to have a good look at their faces, they were three young Afro-males.
In recent months, there has been a spike in vehicular hijacking cases. The Guyana Police Force had previously warned taxi operators of carjackers, who have amped up attacks on Toyota Allion and Toyota Premio motorcars under the pretext of wanting taxis.
However, these perpetrators have since upped their modus operandi and are now going directly to owners, attacking them and hijacking their vehicles.