A 53-year-old man was early yesterday morning shot twice in the abdomen in what is believed to be an attempted robbery.
Darby Blackman of Lot 62 Block E, South Sophia (located across the dam behind Meadowbrook Gardens) is currently a patient of the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) where he underwent emergency surgery. It is unclear whether any of the bullets is still lodged in his body but according to hospital officials his condition is listed as critical but stable.
Police said in a press release that around 0710 hours, Blackman was cycling along Jamoon Drive, Meadow Brook, Georgetown, when he was confronted by a man armed with a handgun and who demanded his valuables.
During the incident, according to the release, Blackman was shot to his abdomen by the armed man who escaped on a bicycle. He did not take anything from the victim.
When Stabroek News visited the area, a resident recalled hearing what appeared to be gunshots but said she did not give it much thought as she believed it was a motorcycle backfiring. She later learnt that Blackman was shot.
Another woman recounted that she was heading to work when she saw Blackman in a seated position with his back bracing a tree stump. She said that blood was coming from his mouth but that he was alert. She said that there were about two van loads of policemen standing nearby and later an ambulance came and took the wounded man to the hospital.
At his home, Blackman’s daughter Zinobie Cordis said that the motive for the shooting is unclear. She said that she got a message that her father had been shot. She said that when she arrived at the scene which is a few minutes’ walk from their home, she saw her father bleeding from the nose and the mouth. She said that from the angle he was sitting, she did not initially see the gunshot wounds. She said that his jaw was swollen. According to her, he might have sustained that injury when he fell after being shot.
She said that her father, who is a security guard, recounted to her that he was making his way home when a “lil boy ride up to he” and told him to pass “all that he got”. She said that by the time her father could have stopped the bicycle, the attacker discharged two rounds at him.
After the shooting, she said, persons in the area went to Blackman’s assistance and subsequently contacted the police.
She recalled that several months back a group of persons attempted to break into the house after they accused her father of committing a criminal act which he denied. She said that the persons were hitting the door and some attempted to gain entry through a window. She said that as a result of that incident, Blackman was afraid to go home as persons would be waiting by the bridge for him. Cordis said that the matter was reported to the police and one night several ranks escorted him home. She said that she does not know if there is a connection between that incident and the shooting and did not want to speculate.
Police investigations are continuing.
