Killing of bystander by police triggers Linden protests

-President flies to town, says RSS to probe

By Shuntel Glasgow and Khadidja Ba

The police killing of a bystander during protests in Linden yesterday over the fatal shooting of a man by a cop on Monday, triggered widespread riotous behaviour during which the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge was blocked with debris, fires set and missiles hurled at law enforcers.

In a bid to quell the situation, President Irfaan Ali flew to the town by helicopter, met with the aggrieved families and promised a full probe by the Regional Security System (RSS).

Keon Fogenay, a 32-year-old bystander known as “Dan,” became the second casualty in Linden’s escalating crisis yesterday, fatally shot amidst clashes between protestors and police. His death fuelled further the fiery protests, which had been raging for over 12 hours and which  erupted after the disputed police killing of 21-year-old Ronaldo Peters on Monday. The mining town was yesterday gripped by grief and anger, its streets scarred by violence and critical infrastructure paralyzed by the unrest. Both Fogenay and Peters originated from Wismar’s Buck Ville area.

Ali arrived in Linden yesterday  around 6:00 pm and convened meetings at Watooka House even as unrest continued in another part of town and teargas was fired.

The President first addressed a crowd before meeting privately with the bereaved families. Protests continued after his departure over an hour later.