It is believed the men had been watching the miner during his business transactions in the city.
Wounded is Terrence Parahoo, age 42 years of the East Bank. He was shot in the left leg and reportedly lost consciousness shortly after arriving at the Georgetown Public Hospital. Parahoo, who was in the company of his wife and 5-year-old granddaughter fought with his attackers prior to being wounded.
The men escaped with a bag containing just over $1.2M dollars, money which Carmen Parahoo said was meant to pay workers and clear debts. “Is everything they gone with, we Christmas, we New Year, everything”, the woman said yesterday fighting to hold back tears.
Terrence Parahoo has been in gold mining for years and two years ago he started operating a dredge at Arawak in the Mazaruni River. His wife also assists at the dredge and after some two months of mining in the area they travelled to the city on Tuesday to do business.
Parahoo made his declarations at the Gold Board yesterday and later left to change a cheque at the bank. He called his wife to join him for lunch at the restaurant which is located in the Tiger Bay area, and she showed up with their granddaughter. The men pounced on him just as they were entering a car outside of the restaurant.
Speaking with Stabroek News at the hospital yesterday, Carmen decried the attack saying people are no longer safe in the country. She said too that the money that people are sweating for “day in and day out” can be snatched easily and or “taken at gunpoint”. The woman said her husband was courageous enough to fight not only because of his money, but also to let his attackers know some people in the country are still going to stand up to them.
“If they ain’t had guns they could not have our money today,” the woman said shaking her head. She said her husband had a desire to apply for a gun licence, but that he never got around to it. However, relatives at the hospital said he had applied for one and was turned down.
Recounting the incident Carmen said they spent sometime in the restaurant eating before exiting to hail a taxi. Initially, they wanted to stop a car on the road but decided against this after a friend invited them to join their vehicle. She said the friend was also in the restaurant sharing the meal with them. Her husband was the last to enter the car and it was while he was making his way in that the man approached them with the guns.
Carmen recalled the men grabbing onto her husband’s bag and then a struggle ensued. The woman was too terrified to look at the men, but she said they were unmasked. The men fought with her husband for a brief period before shots rang out. According to her, the men shot Parahoo while he was on the ground and they also fired shots wildly in the air to keep people away.
She said the men fled the scene on foot and joined a waiting car on Main Street. A taxi-driver rushed to assist them and subsequently transported her husband to the hospital. Police arrived at the hospital and took statements.
“Is hard now to look at people we owe and say we ain’t got money, the staff ain’t even had Christmas and now this”, the woman lamented. She said also that her husband is likely to be on bed rest for a while and therefore, the mining operation would cease for a while.
Yesterday’s attack is the latest in a spate. On Tuesday Yarowkabra businessman Fazil Mohammed was shot trice at a sand pit off the Linden/Soesdyke highway. He has since been hospitalized.
