Two days after he was shot during a robbery, popular businessman Roger Hinds was yesterday discharged from hospital and he said that the attack on him was a set up.
Hinds, 46, of 111 Miles Mahdia, Potaro, was shot two times before being robbed of approximately $5 million on Tuesday night, while sitting in his vehicle at Durban Street, Lodge.
Speaking with Stabroek News yesterday, the man indicated that he had noticed a vehicle waiting at Garnett Street, Kitty, where he had visited a relative previously.
He explained that his son returned to Guyana after some years and as a result, he was taking him to see several relatives around Georgetown. While in Kitty, he said, one man, suspected to be one of the perpetrators, approached him and inquired if he was familiar with an individual.
“One of them I think I recognize… the place I was at before, he came up asking me if I know someone,” he recounted.
Hinds stated that not much thought was given to the brief interaction but it was after the attack that he realized it may have been the same person.
“I leave Garnett Street and took my son to see his aunt and about five minutes after I discharge from the vehicle… I had my phone to my ears so that took my focus off anybody who probably was watching me,” Hinds recalled.
He stated that two men approached him and shot him to his right hand as he scrambled to represent himself.
“I was still trying to see if I can get my pistol and trying to defend myself with other hand,” he said, adding that after the men realized that he was attempting to reach for a weapon, they shoved him back into the vehicle and fired a second shot, wounding him in his left leg.
In the vehicle, Hinds said, one man held a gun to his head while the other held one to his stomach.
He said the men then took off his jewellery and grabbed his haversack which he would usually carry around. The bag contained about $4 million, Hinds said.
He further stated that the men fired a few shots in the air before making their escape in a waiting car.
Hinds said he heard reports of the police arresting one person in relation to the robbery but is awaiting information from the police before he can go and identify the perpetrator.
Apart from that, Hinds said he is feeling much better but indicated that his hand is fractured while the bullet in his leg remains lodged.
He said that doctors at the Georgetown Public Hospital explained that the bullet would take some time before surfacing and as a result, he has been given medication to help the process.