Police in Regional Division #4C are investigating the shooting of 27-year-old Ryan Joseph, a lab technician of Melanie Public Road, East Coast Demerara (ECD) and 29-year-old Bimal Versammy, also a lab technician, of Section ‘C’, Enterprise, ECD.
The incident occurred at about 20:00 hours at Lot 7 Melanie Public Road, ECD and involved three unidentifiable males (two armed with small handguns and the other, the driver of a silver HD series motorcar).
The police say that enquiries revealed that Joseph, Veersammy, and a third person were sitting in front of Joseph’s residence, when a silver Bluebird motorcar came from a western direction on the Melanie Public Road and stopped in front of the victims. Two masked men then exited the back seat of the car and opened fire on Joseph and Veersammy, causing them to flee.
After the shooting the two masked men re-entered the waiting motorcar and it drove away in a westerly direction.
Joseph sustained gunshot injuries to his right leg, one to his left leg, one in his left hand, and one to his abdomen. Veersammy suffered gunshot wounds to his right elbow and left leg above knee, while the third man escaped unhurt. The victims were rushed to a city hospital where they were treated. Both are reportedly in a stable condition.
In an interview with Stabroek News, Joseph’s mother, Parbatie Bhagmat, said that she was inside while Joseph and his friends were sitting outside. She was about to go take a bath when she saw the car and the men who came out and started shooting. Bhagmat recounted that she heard the gunshots and saw Joseph and his friends running.
“I was going to bathe and then me stand up and see two body run out the car and start shoot just like da. And he and he friend run and he lil brother in the hammock say ‘ow mi gad Ryan get shoot and them jump in the car and gone’. And meh start holler and meh run go tire shop and one lady say Ryan get shoot and he fall down. When meh go, he belly and foot in blood.”
Joseph’s father stated that about 13 spent shells were recovered from the scene.
Bhagmat also told this newspaper that Joseph is a father of one and that he would usually sit at the front after work to wait on his wife. “Me nah know nothing about he deh in no problem with nobody, this thing happen just suh. He does just come home sit down and wait for he wife till 10 o clock and that’s it.”
