A couple were shot and killed in Annandale, East Coast Demerara (ECD) yesterday evening, after six bandits entered their premises as they relaxed in hammocks under the house.
Businessman Ramdeo and wife Sita Persaud of 5th Street, Annandale ECD were reportedly each shot twice in the region of the heart in a bedroom in their home after bandits had taken them upstairs demanding cash.
Reports indicate that the man was shot while lying on a bed in their bedroom while his wife was shot on the floor near the bed in a style reminiscent of an execution.
According to one of the couple’s children, several armed men stormed the house each carrying two weapons with taped magazines. One of the bandits, he said, was dressed in military fatigues. He related that they demanded cash while taking his parents upstairs.
This newspaper understands that there was a watchman at the premises at the time. He was hit over the head by one of the six armed men after they entered the yard but was kept downstairs with the children during the period the couple were taken upstairs. They were guarded by one of the bandits.
The whole episode lasted approximately 10 minutes before the men emerged and hurriedly departed on foot, including the one who had been stationed in the yard.
While they were leaving the yard it is reported that they fired shots at the home of a neighbour across the street.
At the time this newspaper visited, blood was still seeping from the floorboards of the first-floor room where the couple had been shot, onto the concrete below. There was visible evidence of the point of impact of the bullets which had caused indentations in the floorboards.
Up to the time Stabroek News left the scene ranks from ‘C’ Division headed by Commander Mohamed Jameer were still in the house conducting their investigations.
Even while police were engaged in their probe into the shooting, they had to contend with a power outage in the neighbourhood, and were forced to resort to battery-powered lamps in order to continue their work.
News of the shooting brought residents of the closely-knit community converging on the home of the deceased where they offered comfort to the couple’s three young children and other relatives.
According to some residents they were unable to communicate by phone with the local police immediately after the incident because all the numbers were busy.
Several residents were heard to express fears for their safety with the five escapees from the February 23 jailbreak still on the loose. (Oscar P. Clarke)
