By Isanella Patoir
Justin Lewis, the uncle of the woman who was shot by her boyfriend in the city on Tuesday has claimed she was being stalked hence the reason she went to the Police and obtained a restraining order against him.
The boyfriend 24-year-old Daniel Hinckson committed suicide after shooting 20-year-old Faith Thompson in the neck Tuesday at about 10:45hrs at Lot 39 Norton Street, Georgetown.
Lewis during an interview with the News Room Wednesday said the family became aware of reports of Daniel physically abusing Faith last year. The couple shared an intimate relationship for seven years.
“As of last year they are reports of him being abusive, he would usually hit her,” the uncle said.
According to the uncle, the young woman had tried numerous times to end the relationship but was fearful for her life.
“She requested to leave the relationship, but because of fear she held on, eventually everybody got fed up and requested to do the restraining order,” the uncle said.
The restraining order was taken out against Daniel on July 8, 2019, at the Wales Magistrate’s Court.
The uncle said that Daniel stalked Faith even after the restraining order, which stated that he should stay within 50 feet for the next two years.
“[On Monday] he tail her into a minibus, he jumped into the same minibus and wanted to speak, but in regards to the restraining order which stated that they can only communicate at a police station or in the court and so they decided to stop at Ruimveldt Police Station.
“They got in there and he started to use threatening language and fearful she ran upstairs into the police station, then he made his escape,” Lewis told the News Room.
Lewis disputed reported that Faith moved into the Norton Street house two months ago and explained that she lives in Parfaite Harmonie West Bank of Demerara with her father and other siblings; Daniel lived about five minutes away.
When the shooting occurred on Tuesday Faith was visiting her grandmother.
[On Tuesday] she came downtown to drop out [job] applications and he stalked her on Norton Street residence, he was waiting according to some neighbours, he was just walking around…then eventually he made his way through a window.”
The uncle said he would normally check up on his mother and on Tuesday when he arrived he sensed that something was wrong when the door was locked and would not open with his keys.
His 81-year-old aunt who was home at the time opened the door for him.
He said after he learnt that Daniel was at the house and locked up in a bedroom with Faith, he pleaded with her to open the door and even picked up a piece of wood and threatened to beat both of them.
“I said if you don’t come out, I will come over there and I will beat both of you guys, unaware that the guy had a gun, so on the third thought then is when I heard the gunshots and same time she gathered her thoughts together and she ran out of the house over the road.
“After that, I grabbed a towel, cover her up and go straight to the hospital,” the uncle said.
Faith was shot in the left side of the neck and the bullet exited the right side.
Lewis said the CT scan revealed that there are no serious damages and Faith is in a stable condition,
While the doctors said that Faith is expected to make a full recovery, she and her family are in a traumatized state.
“Anyone who survived an attempted murder would be scared, fearful of what could happen after so not her alone is fearful, her family is also fearful. It’s a very traumatic event, we all shed tears and we all were nervous and fearful that her life would have been robbed from her,” the uncle said.
Daniel was discovered dead with a gunshot wound to the head in the house with a handgun in his right hand and the magazine was empty.
Lewis said he was a very talented mechanic and electrician.
