Two persons are now in custody in relation to the shooting to death of Herstelling resident Ameer Abdool Subrati, during an armed robbery on Thursday morning, after they were positively identified during an identification parade held yesterday.
This was confirmed by Commander of ‘A’ Division Clifton Hicken who told Stabroek News that the robbery victims yesterday positively identified the two individuals as the suspects. They are expected to be charged soon.
Subrati, 44, who was a driver with the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corpora-tion, and of Lot 21 Back Street, Peters Hall, East Bank Demerara, was fatally shot after he put up a struggle with one of the two armed men in the attack.
He was rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, and later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he underwent surgery, and later succumbed at around 12.30 pm, the said afternoon.
One of the suspects in custody has been identified as a 24-year-old man, who is a tenant in the bottom flat of the house where the incident occurred. While the identity of the second suspect remains unclear, information revealed that he is a relative of the tenant.
The police, in an issued statement said that the attack was committed on an overseas-based Guyanese couple, Abid Subrati and Amika Appiah. Ameer Subrati, the statement said, “put up a struggle with one of the gunmen and was shot in his neck, after which the men escaped.”
However, the family of the dead man told this newspaper that he was shot while gunshots were being wildly fired during the robbery.
Suzette Dunbar, a cousin of Appiah, explained to this newspaper, “Amika was about to enter the bathroom downstairs, but before she could have opened the door a bandit came out and pointed the gun to her head and she screamed.”
The victims believe that the bandits entered the yard by scaling the fence at the back, and then hid in the bathroom, which is located outside of the house. Dunbar added that after her cousin screamed, four men, who were masked and dressed in black, exited the toilet and launched their attack. At this point, Abid responded to his wife’s alarm.
“He was inside the house and when he came to see why she screamed, he saw one of the bandits over her. She was lying on the ground. When they see him, one of the bandits was saying, ‘shoot him, shoot him,’ but the one didn’t,” the cousin explained.
Stabroek News was further told that the bandits, after forcing the couple to lay on the ground, made their way into the house. Upon hearing the commotion, Ameer, who was in his car preparing to take two cousins home, returned to the yard, and was shot in his neck when the bandits opened fire.
Dunbar recalled that six shots were fired by the gunmen, before they began ransacking the house, and found a white bag containing US$7,000, which was for a wedding this weekend, and a family reunion (which should have been held on Wednes-day night), $200,000 and a quantity of gold jewellery. The bag also contained documents, such as the couple’s US green cards and passports.
After collecting the bag, the bandits escaped, leaving the victims to believe that the robbery was well planned.
Additionally, Dunbar said they believed that the tenant, along with his wife and brother-in-law, played a role in orchestrating the robbery. Abid was able to identify one of the alleged bandits as the brother-in-law of the man in custody.
When the police returned to the scene on Thursday, the tenant was found hiding in a neighbour’s yard. Dunbar said they later found out, that during the robbery the man was in his apartment but told investigators that he didn’t hear any gunshots or commotion. Further, it was stated that the man’s wife had packed a suitcase and moved out of the house earlier in the day.
