– gunman escapes with bag of money
A businessman was fatally shot in the city during a robbery yesterday evening.
Ricardo Henriques, 31, of D’Urban Street, Werk-en-Rust, was shot in the head at point blank range just outside a Guyana Lottery Company booth on Middle Street, near Juice Power and Water World, the snackette and purified water distributor.
The shooting occurred around 7 pm. Henriques was later pronounced dead at the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was immediately taken for treatment.
Richard Henriques, who was with his son at the time of shooting, explained that they went to buy water. When they arrived, he recounted, Ricardo decided to buy a lottery ticket. At this point, a man ran up with a gun, pointed it to his head and shot him. At the same time, the man snatched a bag with cash that Henriques had in his possession.
“He just run up, shoot he and snatch the bag,” the man recalled, as he fought back tears. He said he ran behind the shooter. “I ran behind him and pelt three shots and he returned fire.” The gunman then joined an awaiting accomplice on a motorcycle and rode off.
The man said he believes that the two men might have followed them to the spot when they left the Golden Coast restaurant.
Relatives and friends of the dead man gathered at the hospital after learning of the incident. They were equal parts grief-stricken and angry over the incident. A relative could not understand why the men felt they had to shoot Henriques. They explained that the father of two lived in the US, and only returned to the country two weeks ago to do business. He was described as a wholesaler. He had been due to renew his US resident card on Wednesday and was scheduled to return on Friday.
Ricardo also leaves to mourn his wife and two children aged eleven and ten years old.
In the midst of the grief, there were angry calls for law enforcement to do more to fight crime. A friend of the family who asked not to be identified decried the situation and emphasised the need for the police to act. “The commissioner should do more,” he said. “The police need to be more useful.”
The man noted that when traffic police target motorists they never seemed to pay much interest in motorcyclists.
Only ten days prior to the shooting, the Guyana Police Force unveiled its annual security plan for city and its environs during the holiday season. Police spokesmen promised an increased presence on the streets, including round-the-clock foot and mobile patrols. At the launch of the plan, acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene sought to give a public assurance that the force was prepared for increased crime during the Christmas season. He said: “There was a lot of issue and doubt and concern about the police not having something to tell the public. How do we assure them? This has become a culture of the police force to notify the public and the press as to what we plan to do… how we secure you during this period.”