Two men were shot during an attempted robbery in front of a popular Regent Street store at midday yesterday.
Businessman Shazam Allie, 35, of Tuschen, was shot in his left leg, while welder Narine Samsudeen, 28, of Parika Backdam, was shot once to the abdomen and once to one of his legs in the attack.
Allie was treated at Dr Balwant Singh’s Hospital in the city and discharged. Samsudeen, on the other hand, was admitted at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), where he underwent emergency surgery. He is said to be in a critical condition.
A brief police statement on the attack said that about 12.30pm, an armed man exited a vehicle and discharged several rounds at Allie and Samsudeen and then escaped.
At the time, Allie’s workers were loading a freezer he had just purchased.
Allie said he managed to get to safety by running into Regent Household Electronics Store and the bandit jumped into the waiting vehicle and escaped. The wounded men were then rushed to the hospital.
Allie told Stabroek News he saw a silver grey vehicle pulling up and an unmasked man with a gun fired five to seven shots in his direction.
He said before he ran into the store he was shot to his left leg. The bullet exited the leg, he noted.
Allie said that he had no idea why he was targeted and pointed out that he had a small amount of cash on him at the time.
Meanwhile, Fazal Ally, driver of the truck that was being loaded, said that they had finished loading the freezer when the gunman appeared and opened fire. Ally, who is the father-in-law of Samsudeen, said that Samsudeen was on the truck when he was shot. Samsudeen had to undergo emergency surgery as the bullet that struck him in his abdomen did not exit his body.
When Stabroek News visited the scene, an eyewitness, who asked not to be named, said that it appeared as if the men were followed. He pointed out that the attack occurred 15 minutes after they arrived at the store.
According to the eyewitness, the man asked for the bag with money, which Allie had, but after he ran into the store the gunman left.
Police investigations suggest that the businessman and his workers were traced after visiting a gold and diamond dealer.
Investigations launched by the police immediately after the shooting led to the interception of a vehicle at Kitty bearing a fake number plate.
