Canal businessman shot during home invasion

A businessman, of Canal Number One Polder, West Bank Demerara, has been admitted to the Woodlands Hospital, after he was shot once to the hand during a scuffle with at least two gunmen who invaded his property in the wee hours of Monday.

Injured is 36-year-old Dhaniram Tirbeni, of Lot 13 Studley Park, Canal Number One Polder.Canal

According to reports, the gunmen entered the premises by breaking a wooden window in the bottom flat of the two-storey wooden and concrete structure.

The men demanded money and other valuables, but Dhaniram reportedly informed them that he used up the money he had at home to replenish his grocery store.

After ransacking the place, the men found an undisclosed sum of money but were not satisfied, so they threatened to kill the businessman. However, he put up a fight and was shot. The men then made good their escape on foot.

Shovonne Dass, the wife of the injured man, during a telephone interview, told Guyana Times that the incident occurred around 1:00h. She explained that prior to the incident, they heard unusual sounds and thought they were coming from the dogs.

She noted that after some time, the sounds faded away, so they retired to bed. They were in one room and their two daughters, ages two and six, were in another room. The couple did not realise that someone was in their room until someone hit her husband on his head with a gun.

“They gun butted my husband and demanded money and jewellery. They ransacked the whole place, all the bedrooms and the shop and they find some money… one was not wearing anything to cover his face, but the other covered his face with a piece of cloth,” the traumatised woman related.

The bandits also took the keys to all the vehicles owned by the businessman.

His wife noted that after the bandits found the money and jewellery, they collected two mobile phones, but they wanted more valuables. “One of them put the gun to my husband’s head, but he used his hands to bar and the gun went off… after the bullet went off, the men ran away,” she added.

Dass immediately contacted her brother-in-law, who in turn called the Police. Her brother-in-law subsequently arrived in a taxi and took the injured man to the hospital. The woman noted that the Police arrived a short while after and launched an investigation.

Police have since recovered the crowbar that was used to break the window.

Dass noted that her children, who witnessed the entire ordeal, were still traumatised. The elder who had exams at school could not concentrate, so she had to leave school, while the younger child had not eaten or drank anything since the attack. The Police are continuing their investigations.