The relatives of 19-year-old Joshua Denny of Festival City North Ruimveldt, Georgetown were on Thursday plunged into a state of mourning after he was shot and killed during a robbery moments after leaving for work.
Police have said that the shooting incident occurred at about 7:20h, and his sister Felicia Denny has told investigators that shortly after leaving his home, she received information that he was shot. She said that as she looked out, she saw her brother lying on the roadway with blood oozing from his chest.
Without hesitation, she picked him, up with assistance of others, and took him to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), but he reportedly died while undergoing an emergency surgery.
Murdered: Joshua Denny
The sister recalled that her brother was late for work, and his boss was calling for his to meet him at a particular area.
“I told him to push (his) body and he ran out to go and catch the bus… Soon after, he call meh phone and tell me that he got robbed and shot… I said, ‘Okay, I am coming’… carry he to the hospital, and they say he heart stop… He get robbed like two houses away from where we live… They took his chain…they kill he for one chain!” the sister cried.
Further, she stated that her now dead brother had left for work, but returned home to use the washroom. It was when he left home for the second time that he was attacked and shot.
The aggrieved sister related that with the assistance of persons around, she was able to take him to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he died while receiving treatment.
At the hospital, the young man’s mother, Afaria Denny, was in a state of shock and disbelief. As she wailed in anguish, the grieving mother stated that she should not have had to bury her son. “It is the opposite way; he should be burying me!” the woman cried as family members attempted to console her.
“Me son suppose to bury me, not me burying me son! I just pray for he this morning, and they kill me son for a chain. All I could do is ask God to give me strength, just give me strength”, the woman cried.
The young man had worked hard after leaving school, and had become a talented electrician. He was trained at the Youth Challenge Guyana organisation. He had continued his studies at the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC) in the evenings after work.
He worked with private people, and was someone whom relatives stated never got into the way of anyone. He would always stay out of trouble.
“Joshua was always respectable and always quiet. Anything you call him for, and he is there. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know why they jus didn’t take the chain and go along their way. He was 19 and an electrician with a job, leaving home early to go to his job, and they kill he”, an aunt who was at the hospital stated.
The grieving family is calling on the Police to conduct a thorough investigation into the shooting incident. Guyana Times understands that the now dead teen’s girlfriend is pregnant. He was a member of the Camptown Football Club, and had been playing football since he was three years old.
Meanwhile, the Police have said that investigations into the robbery/murder are ongoing. A Police source said detectives had visited the scene to look for any CCTV cameras in the area, so that they could get a glimpse of the perpetrator.
