Journalist shoots man who allegedly attacked him

Journalist and news anchor of HGP Nightly News Travis Chase was on the other side of the news following his arrest on Sunday morning after he allegedly shot a labourer in Kitty, Georgetown.
The media personality has since been released as Police continue to probe the incident in which a .32 weapon was reportedly used.
Guyana Times understands that Chase and the now injured man, Jimmy Ramgobin, 28, are known to each other. Ramgobin, who has no permanent place of residence, was reportedly kicked several times by the reporter after which he was shot to his right foot.
A police source confirmed that the incident occurred about 04:30h at De Abreu Street, Kitty, Georgetown. Based on reports received, Ramgobin reportedly fell asleep on the parapet in front of the house belonging to the girlfriend of the Journalist.
He was subsequently awakened by Chase, who allegedly kicked him several times to his ribs.
Chase, however, indicated to Police that he was attacked by the man who began to hurl bottles at him and in retaliation, he whipped out his “licensed firearm” and discharged the weapon which hit Ramgobin once.
The injured man was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was admitted and his condition was listed as stable. At the scene, a spent .32 shell was recovered.
When contacted, the Journalist had claimed that he was not involved in any shooting incident and he had no reason to be in De Abreu Street, Kitty in the morning hours, since he resided at Republic Drive, Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara (ECD).
Chase also related that he was not the owner of a .32 weapon, but Police later confirmed that the reporter’s weapon was lodged.

Safety concerns in journalism?
Chase is the second Journalist in as many weeks to be revealed to be in possession of a firearm. In the past, Chase had complained of being followed by Police operatives after he was in receipt of information of an alleged plot to assassinate Head of State, David Granger last year.
Chase had told a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the allegations that he had accompanied the whistle-blower to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters and claimed that former A Division Commander Clifton Hicken had advised him to be careful after he explained to him that “Police operatives” on “motorbikes” were following him at nightspots, and had also staked out Nightly News and his home.

During that CoI, retired acting Chief Justice Ian Chang, who had represented the interests of the Guyana Police Force, questioned Chase’s motives for pursuing the assassination plot story.
Chang suggested that Chase harboured animosity towards the Police because they had brought a larceny charge against him when he worked at a former news entity where he was accused of stealing a camera. Chase had denied harbouring any animosity towards the Police and had testified that while he was employed with the news entity, senior Policeman Mitchell Caesar came to his workplace and informed him that he was charging him with larceny.
Chase testified that after he could not find or produce the receipt for the camera, he opted to plead guilty and pay a “hefty fine” for the offence. He had, however, expressed that this matter was “personally motivated”.
Only last week, persons turned to social media after news started to spread that the Journalist had been kidnapped. There were other instances when Chase claimed that his life was in danger.