A Nigerian man, identified as Bethel Chimezie, has been charged with attempted murder over an attack at the official residence of Guyana President, Irfaan Ali, on Thursday.
According to St. Vincent Times, Chimezie, a resident of Industry, East Coast Demerara, was accused of willfully discharging a loaded pistol in violation of Section 55 of the Criminal Law (Offenses) Act, Chapter 801 and section 103(c) of the same law (a).
Chimezie attempted to enter the State House’s Security Perimeter Process Unit on December 15.
He reportedly stabbed Corporal Telon Perreira of the presidential guard detail five times in the neck before grabbing the officer’s gun and firing numerous bullets before being shot by other guards for the president who retaliated.
Chimezie was remanded to prison until January 26, 2023, and he was not compelled to enter a plea to the indictable counts at his court appearance.
According to reports, Chimezie has lived in Guyana for a while and most recently worked for a cleaning service where he missed 10 days of work prior to the purported attack on State House.
Chimezie’s former employees had claimed that he didn’t exhibit any traits that would lead them to believe he would do such a crime. A coworker had commented, “We were shocked to see this on the news, but he is responsible for his actions…we never suspected he had such ambitions.
