Two weeks after bandits invaded an East La Penitence family, killing one member and injuring two others, the surviving brothers, one of whom was listed as critical, have returned home to North America.
This is after two masked men, one armed with a handgun, had stormed the Lot 194 Freeman Street residence on the morning of Sunday, September 24, just as the Saheed family was preparing for the death anniversary of their father.
Fazal Saheed, a 58-year-old businessman of Albion, Corentyne, was shot several times about his body, and later died while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Meanwhile, his brothers: Shalim Saheed, 53, of the United States of America, and Tallim Saheed, 50, of Toronto, Canada, were hospitalised at the Georgetown medical institution for a number of days as a result of injuries sustained in the attack.
Tallim Saheed was shot once to his shoulder, with the bullet exiting under his armpit, whereas Shalim Saheed was left nursing several gunshot wounds to his stomach, and was said to be in an unstable condition.
The youngest of the siblings was discharged from the hospital early last week, and has managed to return home to Canada without much medical complications. However, his older brother, who had to undergo reconstructive surgery to his intestines, has not yet recovered from his injuries. Nevertheless, Shalim Saheed was flown out of Guyana on Sunday, and was greeted by an ambulance at the airport in New York.
While speaking to the Guyana Times on Sunday, another sibling, Guyana-based Raymond Shaheed, told this publication that Tallim Saheed “is out of the woods” and Shalim Saheed is “barely mobile.” However, he remains hopeful for the full recovery of his brothers.
Just days after the fatal robbery, three persons residing within the area confessed to carrying out the brutal attack and were subsequently taken into police custody. On Tuesday last, two of the teenagers implicated in the murder appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, arraigned on the indictable charge.
Eighteen-year-old Stefon Howard and 19-year-old Shawn De Santos, both residents of Freeman Street, East La Penitence, Georgetown, were not allowed to plead to the charge. The men were unrepresented at their arraignment, and were remanded to prison. The duo is expected to reappear in court on October 19, 2017.
