The man who attacked a presidential guard and opened fire outside the gates of State House on Thursday morning has been identified as a Nigerian national. .
However, lawmen are still trying to determine the motive for his attack that led to the policeman identified as Telon Perreira nursing serious stab wounds, and one local report quoted a source in the Guyana Police Force (GPF) saying that a request has been dispatched to the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) for more information on the Nigerian.
“The GPF has requested via INTERPOL a comprehensive background check on him; also whether he has any criminal history or whether he is linked to any criminal group,” a senior police officer told Demerara Waves Online News.
Reports indicate that the man last worked at a local cleaning company.
He remains hospitalised with serious injuries along with Perreira who he stabbed five times in the neck and body.
According to a statement from the GPF, the Nigerian national turned up at the southeastern guard hut at State House, President Irfaan Ali’s official residence, around 7:30 am and confronted the security detail there, telling them, “I want the President”.
He subsequently became agitated and pulled a knife from the waist of his pants, stabbing a policeman five times. The suspect then grabbed the officer’s gun and discharged several rounds before he was shot when other presidential guards returned fire.
Both were taken to hospital where President Ali visited.
