Seven months after School of the Nations Director, Dr Brian O’Toole, was shot thrice outside of his home, there is yet to be an arrest.
In a statement via the private institution’s Facebook page on Tuesday, the Director expressed dissatisfaction as it relates to the handling of the situation by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the United States (US) Embassy in Guyana.
In his statement, Dr O’Toole reiterated the fact that no one was arrested for the shooting which left one of his hands paralysed, even though it was widely publicised by both local and international media outlets.
“This is now more than seven months since I was shot outside of my home…Time has passed, no one has been arrested, and my hand is still paralysed. There has been so much publicity in several newspapers and radio and TV programmes in more than 10 countries. Surely, many, many persons are tired of ‘my story’. But it is not ‘my’ story, it has become ‘our’ story,” he stated.
On this note, the Director further asserted that despite the fact that necessary information was communicated to the relevant authorities, with regards to previous events which may have led to the shooting, that information was not used.
“The shooting happened after we expelled a young boy for allegedly selling drugs in schools. All this was shared with the police. The threats made against schools in the capital were also shared with the police and with the American Embassy in Georgetown as these came from a young man in Florida. Again no action. It was reported to us by the Guyana Police that the same Florida youth was interviewed by the FBI and his response that the whole matter was just a ‘joke’ was enough to end any further action.” Dr O’Toole said.
Dr O’Toole pointed out that because of the unsatisfactory work done by the authorities, more criminal activities such as this one will be overlooked and this should be a concern for the nation.
“It is, therefore ‘our’ story in that an attempted murderer is left on the loose, drugs continue to be peddled in many schools, and children are being intimidated not to come forward to give evidence…. so it is not ‘my’ story but a tragic situation that affects us all. And what has been the response to date, from the police who provide no feedback, the American Embassy who are content to judge vicious threats as a mere ‘joke’, and the media as they move on to another ‘story’,” the Director underscored.
On January 27 of this year, Dr O’Toole was shot three times as he was returning to his Bel Air, Georgetown residence, hours after an emergency meeting with parents and guardians about violent threats on social media to injure students and teachers of that school.
Earlier this year, Crime Chief Lyndon Alves had told this publication that Police had questioned four persons – both current and former students – in relation to the shooting of the school’s principal.
However, subsequent to the incident, there were several threats against the school on Facebook made by “Kira” (meaning killer), which is the alias of the main character in “Death Note” – a Japanese manga series that was later adapted into films.
