A Nigerian man – Bethel Ikenna Chimezie, 35 – was shot and seriously wounded Thursday after he stabbed a guard multiple times at the residence of Guyanese President Irfaan Ali in Georgetown – the South American nation’s capital, police said.
Chimezie – an employee of a cleaning service – was unconscious and was rushed to the hospital where he’s undergoing surgery on injuries to his head, torso and leg.
The injured guard was in a critical condition after he was stabbed five times in the neck and other parts of his body, the Georgetown Public Hospital said.
Investigators said Chimezie entered the sentry’s guardroom early Thursday morning and demanded to see the president before whipping out a knife and stabbing one of the guards.
Grabbing another guard’s service pistol, he ran back out into the street and fired “several rounds” at the guardroom, police said.
“The security detail returned fire, injuring the suspect.”
The Guyanese police force has asked the Interpol for a “comprehensive background check” on Chimezie including “whether he has any criminal history or whether he is linked to any criminal group,” Deputy Police Commissioner Wendell Blanhum said.
Although it was not clear if President Ali – who has since visited the injured guard in hospital – was at home during the incident, investigators said he and his family had not been in serious danger.
