A miner was transferred to the Georgetown Hospital late Friday night, hours after gunmen with bags over their faces shot him in the chest while relieving him of raw gold at 14 Miles, Issano.
Vernon McKenzie, 30, of Second Avenue, Bartica was said to be in a stable but serious condition and up to press time last evening preparations for surgery were being made to have the bullet removed.
A police source told this newspaper yesterday that around 4.30 pm on Friday, McKenzie who is the general manger of a dredge and an employee were making their way back to camp which is about a mile from the worksite when two men with black bags over their faces jumped out from the bushes.
The men who were armed with hand guns demanded that they hand over all their valuables. According to the source, Mc Kenzie had 9 ounces 13 pennyweights of raw gold in his possession and he urged the bandits to take it and not hurt them.
During this time, the employee managed to escape into the nearby bushes. As the gold was snatched from McKenzie, one of the bandits discharged a round hitting the miner in his right side chest.
The wounded man was taken to the Bartica Hospital where he was seen by a doctor and referred to the Georgetown Hospital after an x-ray revealed that the bullet was lodged.
He arrived at the city institution, around midnight.
The man’s sister-in-law told this newspaper from Bartica yesterday that he was being prepared for surgery. She recalled receiving news of the shooting around 6 pm and when she arrived at the hospital, McKenzie was conscious.
She said that the doctor was urging him not to speak so they were unable to ascertain exactly what had happened.
The woman told this newspaper that McKenzie has been working in the interior for many years as an excavator. He was recently given the general manger position on a dredge he was working on.
Meanwhile, following the incident, a team of lawmen from Bartica was dispatched to the area to commence investigations but up to late yesterday afternoon there were no reports of any suspects being caught.
A police source pointed out that the area where the incident occurred was very vast so it would take some time before there are any results.
He said that though the area is one where miners converge, there are not many crimes.
