Gunmen strike in WCD, ECD; man shot at wake in Annandale

Two armed robberies on opposite sides of the Demerara River within hours of each other have left one man hospitalised with a gunshot wound and a Chinese businessman counting his losses.
The first incident unfolded around 12:05h on Saturday, at Annandale, East Coast Demerara (ECD), where a 30-year-old autobody workman of Non Pariel was shot and robbed while attending a wake.
According to reports, the victim was among several people gathered at the wake of the late Eagon Williams when he left the crowd to urinate a short distance away. While there, he noticed two identifiable men approaching from the eastern direction.
Sensing danger, he turned and ran back toward the gathering, but the men caught up with him. One, armed with a handgun, held him at gunpoint and demanded money. When the victim resisted, the armed man discharged a round, hitting him in his right thigh.
He fell to the ground, and the bandits relieved him of his haversack containing a Samsung S9 cell phone valued at $40,000, personal documents, and other items. The two suspects then escaped on a motorcycle, registration number unknown.
Residents who were attending the wake went to his assistance and rushed him to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he was admitted and was scheduled to undergo surgery.
While Police on the East Coast were responding to that shooting, another armed robbery was being investigated across the river at Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD), where three masked men stormed the China #11 Supermarket hours earlier.
That robbery occurred around 20:44h on Friday and targeted 38-year-old Chinese businessman Zhuangshui Xu, who operates the supermarket.
Reports indicate that Xu was behind the cashier counter serving customers when the three suspects entered, one armed with a handgun, another with a knife, and the third with a cutlass.
The gunman was dressed in a camouflage hoodie and dark pants with a black cloth over his face. The second wore a long-sleeve grey and blue jersey with blue pants and a blue face covering, while the third was clad in a long-sleeve blue jersey and dark pants with a grey cloth tied around his face.
The men demanded cash, and one of them vaulted over the counter, emptied the cash register, and stuffed the day’s sales into a black plastic bag along with approximately $50,000 worth of Digicel and GTT phone cards.
The trio then fled the scene on foot in an unknown direction. No one was injured.
Police have since questioned several individuals as investigations continue into both incidents.