Visitor struck as NDP fundraiser is pelted with stones

A visitor was struck and another person injured when unknown assailants pelted stones at an opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) fundraiser in Richland Park on Saturday.

Groundsman at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex Patrick “Tall Boy” John told I-Witness News on Monday that the wound to the head he suffered when he was struck by one of the stones was minor, although he bled a lot when injured.

The fundraiser  was a creole and karaoke evening.

A visitor to St. Vincent, who gave only his first name, Herbert, because of his work in national security in his country, was also struck by one of the stones.

He told I-Witness News separately on Monday that he was standing at the function talking with two former police officers from St. Vincent and the Grenadines when the stoning began.

It’s somewhere to go, talk, and socialise, so I was doing such with two other gentlemen, ex-police and reminiscing about training,” he said.

“This other gentleman there called Tall Man, we were there discussing cricket and West Indies and the different players and what was taking place. We heard a commotion, two bangs on a roof and then a third and I felt something hit me on my thumb and then I realised the gentleman in front of me, Tall Man, he was hit in the head and he was bleeding profusely,” Herbert told I-Witness News.

He said ice had to be applied to John’s head to help stop the bleeding.

“It was very shocking to be in a crowd where you have children, senior citizens, trying to have fun and just meeting together and then someone threw stones in the middle of the surrounding without even regards for who they would be hitting or what,” Herbert said.

“It’s distressing really; I didn’t expect something in a quiet community like that,” he said.

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Herbert said that a stone struck him on his thumb, but he would not describe it as an injury.

“… the velocity was off already because it hit the other person’s head and just the gravity brought it on my hand,” Herbert said.

It was the fourth time that Herbert was visiting St. Vincent. “And I have never had an experience like that before,” he told I-Witness News.

Asked if the incident has affected his perception of SVG, Herbert told I-Witness News, “For a small country like this, where everyone should be almost like family, based on the square miles and the population, I didn’t expect something like that.”

He said the incident will have an impact on what he does when visiting SVG.

“It affects my decision that I need to be careful where I go and I have a habit of not staying in the midst of a crowd but on the outskirts and I’ll stick to that,” Herbert told I-Witness News.