Taxi driver escaped death after being assaulted by five Venezuelans

Georgetown, Guyana: Shon Smith, a forty-six-year-old, was brutally stabbed, chopped and almost had his neck severed allegedly by five Venezuelans on November 11, 2023.

Notably, he belongs to Parika in East Bank Essequibo (EBE) and has been operating as a taxi driver for the past seventeen years; he escaped death after he was assaulted. 

Smith’s cousin, Elecia Carroll, stated that the incident happened between 12:00 and 01:00 hours at Ruby Backdam. 

Carroll shared that the victim is currently admitted as a patient at the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH). He stated that Smith operates at the Parika Junction and revealed that he was in the area of Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and Courts when he was approached by the five Venezuelan men.

Meanwhile, Smith claimed that the two men had interacted with him in English and asked him to take them to Ruby Backdam.

It is to be noted that two of the men whipped out a knife when the taxi driver asked them where they were coming from. The other male placed the knife in his neck. 

The victim tried to accelerate the car, but as there was a scuffle between the driver and the men, the car accidentally went into neutral.

As soon as the car came to a stop, the suspects forced the man to hand over his phone and money, and they then terribly dragged Smith out of the car and threw him on the ground. 

It is to be added to the remarks of Smith that the Venezuelans used a curved knife and began to see the man’s neck to chop him about his body.

To get himself free from the situation, he pretended to be dead and lay in a motionless position on the ground, and this caused the men to believe that he was dead.

The suspects then picked him up and dumbed him in nearby bushes, after which they left the place.

After a few moments, someone showed up at the location, and they recognized him and took him to the nearest hospital.

Smith has undergone emergency surgery for his neck and other wounds he sustained from the men. 

Reportedly, the case was filed at the Parika Police Station. The Commander of Regional Division Three and the Asst. Commissioner Mahendra Siwnarine disclosed that the investigation of this matter is still ongoing.