A security guard attached to the Electronics City branch in the Fogarty’s building was shot yesterday after he attempted to foil an armed robbery in which a man was relieved of over $1M.
Wounded is Anthony Joseph, who was shot once to his abdomen in the attack, which occurred around 11.15am. Joseph was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital and was later transferred to the Woodlands Hospital, where he remained a patient in a stable condition up to yesterday afternoon.
The lone gunman managed to escape on a parked motorcycle with $1.2M.
When Stabroek News arrived at the scene, a police patrol had just responded and the store was closed.
Staff members appeared to be visibly traumatised and the robbery victim, who was identified as Abdel Odie, was left sitting on the store’s floor.
A pair of slippers that was worn by the suspect was left behind.
Stabroek News was told that Odie, who had earlier made a withdrawal from the nearby Republic Bank branch on Water Street, was proceeding towards the nearby Muneshwers Limited building, where his car was parked, but became suspicious that he was being followed.
As a result, he went into Electronics City.
He was talking to another individual in the store when he was approached by the gunman, who demanded that he hand over a package that contained the money.
It was at this point that Joseph, who was armed with a gun, attempted to intervene and was shot.
A man who was in the vicinity of Electronics City at the time related that he did not hear any gunshot while nothing that there was loud music being played by the store at the time.
Up to last evening, police had not managed to make any arrests.
Several efforts made to contact the relatives of Joseph proved unsuccessful.