A Corentyne businessman is now dead after he was shot and chopped by two bandits who invaded his home on Wednesday night.
Although Patrick Mohabir, 42, of Lot 9 Belvedere Village, Corentyne, Berbice, died of injuries he sustained during a scuffle with one of the men, there is suspicion that they intended to kill him since they had refused valuables that were offered to them. According to a police statement, the attack occurred around 11.30pm, when the two men, armed with a firearm and cutlass, entered Mohabir’s home and held him up along with his wife Shabina Ahmad. During the attack, police added, Mohabir put up resistance and was shot and chopped by the perpetrators, who escaped with two cell phones and a pair of shoes.
Mohabir was subsequently taken to the Anamayah Memorial Hospital, where he succumbed while receiving medical attention.
The death of Mohabir, who operated a supermarket, has shocked Belvedere residents since the community does not see much crime, and particularly serious ones.
At the crime scene yesterday morning, scores of villagers converged at Mohabir’s home, which was bloodstained.
It is believed that the men may have gained entry into the home by climbing through an open a window.
Stabroek News was told that the couple had retired to bed but was later roused by an unusual sound. Ahmad, 39, told reporters that she went to check the noise but upon opening the bedroom door she was greeted by two armed men in masks.
The woman said she quickly begged the men not to harm them and offered them money. She explained after her husband heard her telling the men not to harm them, he got out of bed to see what was happening. She recalled that at that point her husband and one of the bandits engaged in a scuffle and as a result he was shot and chopped.
According to the woman, the men turned their attention to her after shooting Mohabir in the left leg. One of the men, she said, was about to attack her but she managed to rip off his mask. She said she didn’t see his face because he kept ducking in an attempt to conceal his identity from her.
At that point, the invaders quickly fled the house with their loot.
Ahmad noted that when she offered the men money, they didn’t pay her any attention, which has led to her believe that the men were not there to carry out a robbery. Also fuelling her suspicions is the fact that the men didn’t stay more than five minutes in the home to carry out the attack.
The wounded Mohabir bled profusely due to his injuries.
Sources told Stabroek News that Mohabir was charged in 2007 with the murder of a police officer. The police officer, Huburn Quinn, was fatally chopped in that same year. However, in 2010 the matter was thrown out in the High Court and Mohabir was freed.
Mohabir is survived by his wife and four children.
