Two months after 18-year-old Jared Jagnandan was fatally wounded at his East Coast Demerara workplace, his parents continue in their quest for justice.
In a press statement on Tuesday, the parents claimed the shooter, a security guard at the establishment, was not licensed to carry the weapon used to inflict the deadly wound.
And while new information surfaced about several dots that are yet to be connected, they said they are considering instituting civil proceedings in the case.
“It has been disclosed that the security service negligently and recklessly permitted the guard to possess the loaded firearm knowing that he had no license or permit to do so.
“It has also been disclosed that the Security Service has not cooperated with the police by providing certain records that they are legally required to maintain,” Jagnandan parents, Reshma Chetram- Jagnandan and Avalon Jagnandan said in the press statement.
This, the parents believe can result in the secutiry firm being criminally charged for breaches under the Private Secutiry Act.
“The Security Licence can be cancelled or suspended, firearm licenses can be revoked. The law recognises that you cannot just set up a security firm, fail to provide adequate training, fail to acquire requisite licenses, cause death by the combination of this negligence and escape free from penalty under the law. When you put guns in peoples’ hands you must be held at a very high standard,” the parents outlined in the statement.
Further, they said that apart from the security guard, the firm can also be jointly charged for the unlawful killing of Jagnandan along with other criminal offences under the Criminal Law Offences Act.
“Even before a Security Firm can operate, they require the approval of the police force. Is it that this approval is given recklessly or negligently?” the parents questioned.
Jagnandan was a fatally shot at Shaf Auto Sales, Lusignan, ECD on March 21 by a 20-year-old security guard attached to a private secutiry firm.
The teenager was a Sales and Marketing Representative who lived at Martyrs’ Ville, East Coast Demerara (ECD). The guard was employed with the auto company.
Following the shooting, the guard was arrested. However, to date he is yet to be charged.
In the statement, Jagnandan parents said they learnt that the file was sent for legal advice.
According to the Police report, the businessman who manages Shaf Auto Sales told the police that he and his wife returned to the store around 11:10 hrs after transacting business and observed the suspect and the teen seated in a chair, a short distance away from the security officer’s desk.
The businessman further noted that he and his wife proceeded to his office. A few minutes later they heard a loud explosion in the store.
He told police that he immediately exited his office where he saw his son lying motionless on the ground with blood on the lower section of his body. The security officer told him Jared was shot.
Jared was taken to the Woodlands Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Equally, the parents pointed out that the auto sale should be investigated for their delay in ensuring that Jagnandan received medical attention after he was shot.
Highlighting that the security firm must be held accountable for the incident, the parents said they are considering instituting civil proceedings in the matter, if it is what is required for them to get justice.
“Two months after our son’s death we feel no further ahead, why is our matter being treated with differently? Why don’t we deserve justice?
“We fear if this drags on without action much longer, the security guard who shot our son will flee the country, the owners of the auto sale will flee the country, the security firm will find a way out, and the matter will be swept under the rug. Life will go on for everyone but us,” the grieving parents said.
They are therefore calling for a full and transparent investigation.