GEORGETOWN – Grief has gripped the Charlestown home of Samantha Roach, whose six-year-old daughter, Soraya Bourne, was killed in what investigators now suspect was a deliberately orchestrated explosion at the Mobil Gas Station on Regent and King Streets, Georgetown.
On Monday, the child’s mother, her voice breaking under the weight of anguish, pleaded for swift justice.“I want the people to find the man fast. I need justice. My child didn’t deserve to die like this,” Roach said, her trembling hands clutching a photo of Soraya, who would have turned seven in just a few weeks.
The family’s Sunday evening routine, a simple trip for dinner, turned into tragedy. Soraya had begged to tag along with her aunt, Jenica Hooper, who was taking her grandmother Yvonne Jonas and cousins Seddia McIntosh and Reshard Lord for a meal.
Minutes later, the car they were in was obliterated by a massive blast. “Someone came running to tell us my niece’s car blew up,” Roach recalled through tears. “When I reached the hospital, I kept asking for my child… and nobody answered. When I saw her… she was disfigured. I blacked out right there.”
Police investigators have since reviewed CCTV footage showing a man, described as of Spanish-speaking descent, walking into the gas station around 6:15 p.m. carrying two bulky black plastic bags. He was reportedly stopped from placing them in a bin, then walked away and placed them near the gas storage area.
About an hour later, the explosion tore through the site. The blast killed Soraya, injured four of her relatives, and shattered nearby buildings and vehicles, sending shockwaves across downtown Georgetown. Police have since detained three persons, including a Venezuelan national, while a wanted bulletin has been issued for the prime suspect, who remains on the run.
Forensic experts are analysing debris from the scene as part of what authorities now call a terror-related investigation. President Dr. Irfaan Ali has vowed that the perpetrators “will face the full force of the law,” emphasizing that terrorism and mass violence have no place in Guyana.
For Roach, though, justice feels far away. Her daughter, her youngest, her “last child”, is gone. “She was my pride and joy. She was so full of life. She got an iPad for her birthday, but she never even got to use it,” the grieving mother said softly. “I just want justice for my baby.”
