The New York Times-20080127-11 Are Killed in a Guyanese Village

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11 Are Killed in a Guyanese Village

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(Agence France-Presse) -- Gunmen with assault rifles fatally shot 11 people in a village in Guyana early Saturday in an attack that the police attributed to a criminal gang whose leader has threatened widespread violence.

At least five of the victims were children, said Leroy Brummel, the divisional police commander. Three people were hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

The killing in Lusignan, a village near Georgetown, was a cowardly act by sick, demented criminals, said President Bharrat Jagdeo, appealing for calm.

We have to ensure this does not spread ethnic tension, he said, alluding to the fact that the villagers are mainly of East Indian heritage and the gang members suspected of attacking them are black. These are criminals. We have to hunt them down.

Guyana's two main ethnic groups are the descendants of East Indian indentured laborers and those of African slaves.

The attack followed reports of telephone threats by Rondell Rawlins, who is believed to lead a gang of about 20 heavily armed men whom he organized after escaping from prison in 2002.

Mr. Rawlins reportedly threatened widespread violence after the disappearance of his pregnant companion, for which he blamed the police.

The police say Mr. Rawlins is responsible for a number of homicides, robberies and kidnappings in recent years, including the killing of an agriculture minister in 2006.