Argument over Arima garbage truck ends in shooting

One man is being treated for a gunshot wound after an argument over which garbage truck would be best suited to collect rubbish in Wallerfield on Monday morning.

Police said a garbage collector and his co-worker were travelling in their white Fuso three-tonne truck on Red Granite Street, Demerara Heights, at around 6.45 am when a man began arguing with them for not using a proper garbage truck to collect refuse.

The garbage collector told police he ignored the man and continued collecting garbage on Bluestone Street, nearby, but noticed the same man following him.

He also saw the man pulling a gun from the waist of his pants and pointing it at him.

The garbage collector, who is also a licensed firearm user, pulled out his Sig Sauer pistol and shot at the man, who ran away but then walked back up to the truck and shot at the garbage collector.

The garbage collector shot at the man again, hitting him, before running away.

The garbage collector called the police and Arima CID visited the scene and found three spent shells.

Arima police later got a call to say the wounded man was at the Arima Hospital.

He was treated and transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, where he remained under police guard up to Tuesday afternoon.