A CARAPICHAIMA man with a history of mental illness was shot and killed by a security guard yesterday after he ran amok in his neighbourhood.

Glen Kelly, 38, of Perseverance Road, Chandernagore, was shot after he beat a resident, and threatened several others.

Residents told police around 7.15 a.m. Kelly was seen walking along Perseverance Road shouting at people.

At the same time, Shiraz Massoon was driving a backhoe near R Maye Hardware. Kelly entered the vehicle and began beating Massoon with his fists and a copy of the Holy Bible.

Massoon jumped out of the vehicle and Kelly took the wheel and attempted to drive off, but instead crashed into the office of the hardware store.

The mentally ill man alighted from the backhoe and began throwing stones at several buildings on the street.

A resident, who did not want to be named, said : "A neighbour told me 'a mad man on the street', so I pulled my gate. Other people came out and closed their gate too. He (Kelly) went by my daughter and asked her 'how many children she has', and then he walked off. He went by several people and was talking nonsense".

Kelly picked up a length of wood and was attempted to attack a woman, when he was shot by a security guard.

Police were called to the scene, and Kelly was taken for treatment at the Chaguanas Health Centre, where he was pronounced dead.

Neighbours said Kelly had never previously acted violently.

Taxi driver Narine Dhanlal said: "He was a quiet person. He travelled with me sometimes, and he always was pleasant. Nothing like this ever happened before".

Another neighbour said: "I knew him for about three years and he always kept to himself. This is a real shock".

Police said they were told that Kelly had not taken his medication yesterday morning which was prescribed for his condition.

Kelly was a father of one, and was employed at PriceSmart in Chaguanas.

There have been other instances where residents have been attacked by mentally ill patients.

On April 19, 62-year-old panman Jester Stanisclaus was killed by a 32-year-old mentally ill male relative.

Stanisclaus was found with his throat cut and multiple stab wounds in an apartment at Kingsley Street, Princes Town.

The suspect had ran amok that morning and stabbed another man, smashed the windscreen of a car, and charged at a police officer with knife and a barbecue fork.

The suspect, who was shot by the policeman, had been a regular patient at St Ann's Hospital for the past nine years.