Almost two years have passed since waitress Debra Blackman was gunned down at the restaurant where she worked and although a video recording of the suspect committing the act was released by police, the man remains at large.
The inability of the police to arrest the gunman has caused much distress in Blackman’s family circle but her five children and other relatives still hope that the identity of the gunman will one day be revealed.
On August 23, 2014 the gunman walked into the Delicious Chinese Restaurant on D’Urban Street, between Haley and Hardina streets, and shot Blackman as she was handing over an order to him. Seconds later, the man was seen walking out of the restaurant and he subsequently jumped onto a CG motorcycle which sped off. Police investigators had never received any information on the motorcycle’s licence plate number.
Blackman sustained a single gunshot wound which entered her body through her neck and passed out through her shoulder. She died moments after being shot.
Footage captured by a security camera located inside the restaurant showed the face of the shooter. The image was clear enough that he would be identifiable to anyone who knows him.
Stabroek News saw part of the footage. The gunman who appeared to be in his mid-20s was dressed in a grey t-shirt, dark-coloured pants and a red and black cap, standing by the counter. Though the footage was immediately available, days passed before the force made it public. Questions has been raised as to why this was done especially when police had video evidence. Back then even Blackman’s relatives had expressed concern at the delay.
Police had received several leads but none materialized into any breakthroughs.
Contacted, a senior police official said the case is being investigated. The official could not give precise information on the status of the investigation but said that the shooter may still be at large because no one has come forward to positively identify him.
The official said that even though persons may know the shooter they may be afraid to come forward. It was explained that though the trust between the police and the public has improved it is not in all cases that the assistance required is received.
Stabroek News spoke briefly to Blackman’s daughter Shelly-Ann recently and she expressed frustration at the stalled investigation. She said that she is shocked that no one has come forward to identity the shooter whose face was captured by the security camera.
She once again questioned whether the shooter was a foreigner but asked why such a person would want to kill her mother.
“I am surprised because I keep saying it gotta be a mystery man. A video and police still can’t get nowhere that is very surprising,” she said. She insisted that if the shooter was a local someone would have come forward or tipped off the police by now.
A month after the shooting the young woman had stated a similar position. She told Stabroek News, “I can’t see that a man footage on the internet in the newspaper and nobody knows this guy. It is strange. He ain’t belong to Guyana?” she said.
She had also expressed the view that the police should be looking for the two other men who were seen acting suspiciously in the video recording. Her position was that even though they may not have been involved in the shooting incident at least they would be able to provide investigators with more information about the physical characteristics of the shooter.
She said that two years after she has heard nothing from the authorities and have not yet visited them as she is unsure what should be done.
She said that the family has no immediate plans to approach the police. However, though frustrated, she has not reached the stage where she is prepared to give up as she believes justice is in store for her and her family.
She said tears are a regular feature as her mother is always in her thoughts. For the anniversary, the plan is to hold a memorial service in honour of her mother.
Though police had stated from the onset that the investigations were pointing to a robbery/murder, relatives said that their view of things changed after they saw the video.
