By Royan Abrams
Family members are not buying the story that the police have provided them which suggests that on Thursday, August 04,2016, 18-year-old Andel Daniels of Caracasville West Canje, Berbice died after a step collapsed causing the firearm he had at the time to discharge a round, hitting him in the abdomen.
The police in a statement said the teen was descending the stairs of a farm house, armed with a loaded shotgun, when the stairs collapsed and a round was discharged from the weapon, hitting him in the abdomen.
He was rushed to the Baracara Health Centre by a Neighbourhood Police and was referred to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The firearm was retrieved the following day in a boat, near to the scene.
Speaking exclusively with News Room, a relative of the teen who asked not to be named disclosed that the family believes there is more to the incident.
According to the relative, the story provided to them by the police and other persons in the area is not adding up. The relative questioned “if you had seen gun shot you would have no other reason to doubt murder, how the trigger was pull? ”
News Room was informed that when the teen arrived at the hospital he was not wearing pants which, according to the relative suggested that he was making his way back into the house and not down the stairs as was reported by the police. When questioned about the teen’s presence in the Berbice River where he was shot, the relative said “to be honest I will not lie I don’t know because he went in the creek to see his family because his mom is from the creek and then we heard he started to work, planting provision.”
It was further related that there is a need for properly trained officers and better health services in the Baracara area. “As we were trying to talk to them on the night of the murder some of their attitude was terrible police need to be trained on how to deal with human beings especially grieving family, one police even walk away as we were trying to talk to them, also they need better health care in the creek because they had no health personnel to accompany Andel to the hospital… all of these issues need to be address.”
Meanwhile, Commander of ‘B’ Division Ian Amsterdam informed that the teen died as a result of shock and haemorrhage. He said presently the police are making arrangements for ballistic tests to be done on the firearm and pellets that were removed from the teen’s abdomen to determine whether or not the said firearm shot him.
