-shooter aiming for settlement
Relatives of Veronica Atherley, the 59-year-old newspaper vendor who succumbed to a gunshot wound on Friday after she was accidentally hit in the Stabroek Market area, are dissatisfied with the treatment she received while she was at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).
The woman’s daughter Coreen King told this newspaper yesterday that relatives believe that her mother should have been transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the public hospital earlier than on Monday morning since her condition was serious. She said her mother sustained the gunshot wound to the hip, close to the abdomen, and lost a lot of blood. King said that her mother appeared to be recovering from her injuries when she visited her last Sunday, but noted that relatives were concerned about intermittent pain she was experiencing.
Attempts to contact the administration of the public hospital yesterday for a comment on the issue proved futile.
The woman’s daughter said that on Monday morning the doctor who was attending to her mother, related that the injured woman should have been transferred to the ICU of the hospital earlier, rather than that day. She said the physician added that her mother experienced a lot of internal bleeding and “some of her tubes were damaged”. King said that relatives were hopeful that she would have made it through her illness since the injured woman appeared to be recovering ok after she was transferred to the ICU on Monday last. As such, her death came as a surprise to them.
According to King, a post mortem (PM) examination is expected to be conducted on her mother’s remains tomorrow following which arrangements for her burial will be finalized.
Stabroek News understands that the shooter, who is a licensed firearm holder, was taken back into police custody following the death of the woman.
He reportedly made an arrangement with family members for an out- of-court settlement. Family members of the woman related that the man promised to cover her funeral expenses. According to them, the shooter should face the courts since the woman died as a result of his negligence.
Following the woman’s passing, questions have been raised about the charge that could be brought against the shooter, and legal sources have stated that he could be charged with manslaughter. Those sources said that by recklessly discharging his firearm in the Stabroek Market area, Atherley’s wound was the consequence and that the man is therefore criminally liable in the eyes of the law for unlawful wounding.
Atherley was sitting at her stand in the Stabroek Market area on Saturday August 29 when she was mistakenly shot by the licensed firearm holder. According to reports, two men attempted to rob another and while attempting to flee, the man discharged his firearm in the direction of the duo, missing his target but wounding the newspaper vendor in the region of her hip. She was immediately rushed to the public hospital bleeding profusely from the gunshot wound she sustained.
After realizing that he had hit the woman, the shooter attempted to flee but he was apprehended by persons in the vicinity.
Atherley was initially admitted to the Female Surgical Ward of the medical institution but was transferred to the ICU after her condition worsened. She died around 3 pm on Friday while still hooked up to a life support machine.
King told Stabroek News yesterday that she plans to continue from where her mother left off as regards selling newspapers but might only be able to do so on weekends and holidays since she works during the week. The woman’s relatives told Stabroek News earlier that she wanted to recover from her injuries and get back to her job of selling newspapers, since they noted, it was her life.
