The parents of Jared Jagnandan who was fatally shot on Thursday, March 21st, 2024 are demanding answers from the police over the circumstances and a guard who was a suspect in the matter is no longer in custody.
Avalon Jagnandan, during an interview with Stabroek News yesterday, stated that the post-mortem examination showed that his son died from multiple gunshot wounds.
“No parents should have to bury their child,” he said, blaming management of Shaf Auto Sales and Cerberus Security Service for not acting appropriately after his son was shot.
The distraught father told this newspaper that according to doctors, his 18-year-old son who was laid to rest on Thursday would have been alive today if only his employer Shafeer Khan had escorted the teen to the nearest medical facility instead of relying on Cerberus Security Service.
The deceased teen’s father said that he and his wife are heartbroken and anguished as they don’t have all the details surrounding the death of their son.
Avalon admonished the Police Force for publishing inaccurate information regarding the job description of Jared who he said worked at Shaf Auto Sales, Lusignan, East Coast Demerara as a
Sales and Marketing Representative.
This newspaper was provided with a copy of Jared’s job letter by his grieving father, which confirmed that he was “employed as a Marketing, Sales and Projects Repre-sentative for the past two years” and not as a “handyman” as was reported by the GPF.
The 18-year-old of Martyrs Ville, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was known to Shafeer Khan according to Jared’s mother Reshma Jagnandan.
She related that her family who formerly resided at Lusignan, ECD were close to the Khan’s family as they were neighbours. The mother said that she was comfortable with her son working there.
“They (Khan and his family) live right next door to my mom, and we used to reside there. This boy Shafeer grew up as a baby among us, and then Jared grew up as a baby in front of them, so they were friends. We treated them as close family friends, and Jared felt he needed to do right by them before leaving, and they didn’t feel the same way about him because of their actions [after the incident],” Reshma lamented.
The mother said when she spoke to the businessman his response was not one of interest or compassion as he just insisted on closing his business following the shooting.
“I said, `Shafeer, why are you not with Jared?’ He said, `I have to close up my business,’ so, I said, `That is my baby,’ he said, `but I have to close up my business.’ I had to force him to come because it seemed as though he had no intentions of leaving. When I got there, my husband was already there, and the medical team was attending to my son”.
She said that when pressed for details on her son’s death the businessman was reluctant. The mother said that after her son was pronounced dead at the hospital, Shafeer left without offering his condolences.
The mother of the deceased said that earlier this year the businessman had called her son and pleaded with him to go back to working for him after the teenager had taken a break to focus on his academics.
He eventually returned to work, Reshma noted.
She added that after her son returned to work, she too had pleaded with him to stay home so that they could spend the holidays together since his father would’ve been off from work and his sister would be away from school. Still, Jared told her that he wanted to get everything in alignment before leaving the auto sale company.
“I told him your daddy is proceeding on leave, your sister will be out of school, and when you start working you will be busy. Stay home and spend time with us.” He said, `Mom, I can’t do that, I have to make sure everything is right, and in position, and they have to know where everything is before I leave.’ I carry that guilt. Had I insisted and said yes, you have to, maybe he would not have liked it but he’s a child like this he will say, `Yes, Mommy,’ he’s a very obedient child. Had I pushed him, I feel he would’ve been here,” the mother tearfully said.
Avalon disclosed that his son was earmarked to embark on a new job opportunity at a reputable company.
“A month before Jared passed, he had applied for the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholarship. Around the closing date he had applied to do project management. Also, my son recently graduated from the TVET programme in electrical which is a programme by the Ministry of Youth and Culture, the first batch in Guyana that has graduated…so he just completed that and just graduated…so in another month from now or let us say three weeks from now Jared was poised to start a new job as a supervisor at a reputable company”, he said.
Reshma and Avalon said that Jared’s death was a devastating and deep blow to his 16-year-old sister.
The boy’s father said there were several healthcare institutions along the East Coast Demerara, where his son could have been rushed instead of Woodlands Hospital which is in the city.
Avalon maintained that it was an act of callousness as both Shafeer and the security firm could have used their initiative.
The upset father noted that the fact that his son was bleeding profusely around his leg up to the groin area, he could have been instantly rushed to a health care unit like the Doobay-Gafoor Medical and Research Centre in Courbane Park, Annandale.
The family of the dead teen demanded that the police hand over the footage of the shooting.
“Everything was done quietly in a hushed manner. To date, we haven’t seen the video footage. We are the parents, and our son is gone, and to date, we have not seen the footage. We have not even received an official report on the matter. The report that I read on the incident is what’s in the press. We, as a family, have not seen official footage, I’ve reached out to the police several times, and I’ve seen no footage. I don’t know what has happened to my son, I haven’t received a formal report from the police, and the police haven’t come to us as a family. We had reached out to them”, Avalon said.
Senior Superintendent of Regional Division 4 (C) Khali Pareshram when contacted yesterday for an update on the matter said that it must be understood that the footage is evidential and only the court of law is authorized to release or share such information.
He noted that the police are currently in communication with the grieving family.
When asked if anyone was charged, the Senior Superintendent said that investigations are still ongoing.
The police in a statement had said that they were investigating the shooting which occurred at about 11.10 am on March 21 at Shaf Auto Sales located at Lot 157 Lusignan, East Coast Demerara.
The statement said that the incident involved a 20-year-old security officer attached to Cerberus Security Service, who was armed with a 12-gauge shotgun, which is owned by the security company and which resulted in the death of Jared Jagnandan,
The statement said that enquiries disclosed that Shaf Auto Sales is owned by a 27-year-old who resides in Canada and the business is operated by his brother.
According to the statement, the businessman said that at about 11:08 am, he and his wife returned to the store after transacting business. At the time they met the security guard on duty and Jagnandan seated in a chair, a short distance away from the security officer’s desk.
The statement said that according to the businessman “he and his wife proceeded to his office and a few minutes later, they heard a loud explosion in the store”.
The businessman said he immediately exited his office and saw the teen lying motionless on the ground with blood about the lower section of his body.
The security officer then told him that the teen had been shot, according to the statement from the police.
Jagnandan was picked up in an unconscious state and placed in a motor car, which is owned by Cerberus Security Service and taken to Woodlands Hospital where he was seen and examined by a doctor and later succumbed.
The matter was reported to Vigilance Police Station at about 2.10 pm, the police stated.
Acting on the information received, the GPF said that they went to Woodlands Hospital where the body was examined and a gunshot wound was seen on the upper left leg.
The guard was arrested at the Vigilance Police Station but is no longer in custody.
The shotgun was lodged along with five live cartridges and one spent shell.
