THE closely-knitted farming community of Dartmouth, on the Essequibo Coast, was plunged into mourning around 03:00h yesterday morning with news of the killing of one of their own.

Ivor Williams, 24, a Corporal with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), was shot in the left shoulder when the vehicle in which he and other troops, who were deployed as back-up to the village of Buxton, East Coast Demerara, following an earlier incident, were ambushed by heavily armed gunmen.

Williams was the eldest of five children, three girls and two boys, born to Ureth and Canliss Williams of Church Street, Dartmouth Village.

Eloise Williams, the dead soldier’s paternal grandmother, in a telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle, described her grandson as a very loving person, who used to shower her with kisses whenever he visited home.

The woman who said her tears have not dried since receiving the news, added that his father, a miner, was up to last evening yet to receive the tragic news.

According to Mrs. Williams, her last encounter with her grandson was on New Year’s Day during a family get-together hosted by her daughter Vanica Robertson, who lives in Georgia.

“He spent the entire day with us, we had a good time with gift exchange and everything…he was so loving,” she added, while remembering that her husband, Clement, was proud of his grandson and always used to encourage him to save for “wet days”.