A Bagotstown man was shot dead and then robbed of cash shortly after eight o’clock last night by at least two bandits, while he was delivering cooking gas at Stevedore Housing Scheme in south Georgetown.
Dead is Ivor Cordis, 47, of 44 Norton Street, Bagots-town, East Bank Demerara, an employee of the Demerara Oxygen Company, who delivered cooking gas in his free time.
Stabroek News was told that Cordis had his niece and two nephews, the oldest of who is about 13 years old, with him when he was attacked.
The children were in the cab of the Canter truck with their uncle and the truck was stationary at the time.
Reports said a man with a gun approached the vehicle and accosted Cordis. Then, either this same man, or his accomplice, hauled the children out of the cab, before shooting Cordis to the right side of his face. After shooting him, the bandits reportedly rifled through his pockets and took whatever money he had.
Persons in the area told this newspaper that they heard a “pop”, not unlike a firecracker. But when they went out, they found Cordis slumped in the cab of the vehicle. The police were called and the man was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival around 8.23 pm.
His brother Clarence Cordis told Stabroek News that it was not unusual for Ivor to have large sums of cash on him, given the nature of his business.
The Canter was still the same position when this newspaper went to the scene last night. The seats, steering wheel and headrest were covered in the dead man’s blood.
Meanwhile, shortly after the police took Cordis to the hospital, scores of his relatives converged at the institution.
As the news that he had died was related to them, screams broke out and some collapsed. “Why dey had to kill he? Dey coulda just tek the money and go,” several relatives screamed.
As more relatives arrived, a group of them converged on the room at the Accident and Emergency Department, where the man’s body was, forcing the hospital authorities to close the door.
However, this was not enough to stop the relatives, who demanded to see the body and battered the door until it gave away. They then entered the room. Immediately after, the body was wheeled away to the mortuary with the relatives in hot pursuit.
After milling around for a while they left.
At Cordis’s home last night relatives and neighbours converged. The father of six was said to be the breadwinner of the home. His wife Yvette was unable to speak and relatives said that the two had been together for 15 years and only got married in 2001. Cordis also leaves to mourn six children, the youngest being a one-year-old girl.
