A 43-year-old father of four was shot dead by a lone gunman on Thursday in front of his D Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown house.
Dead: Collin McPherson
The dead man has been identified as 43-year-old Collin McPherson, a driver attached to the Ministry of Health. The shooting reportedly occurred at about 21:40h. At the time of the shooting, the man was sitting on a bench in the company of others.
One eyewitness recalled that he was in the house when he heard a loud explosion, after which he saw the victim running into his home screaming “close the door”.
According to the eyewitness, the gunman was dressed in a blue shirt, a pair of dark-coloured pants and is slim-built, fair in complexion, and was wearing a blue facemask.
The house where the shooting incident took place
On seeing the gunman, the eyewitness reportedly ran to safety, leaving McPherson in the living room. At that point, two more loud explosions were heard, and then there was complete silence.
The eyewitness said he emerged from the bedroom and saw McPherson lying motionlessly. McPherson’s 18-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter were home at the time.
An alarm was raised and the Police were contacted. They visited the scene only to find a bullet-riddled man lying on the ground. He was later pronounced dead by a doctor from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
When Guyana Times visited the man’s home on Friday, his family was still in shock by his sudden death. His daughter, Meleka McPherson, said she was in Georgetown when she was informed that her father was executed.
She said when she returned home, she was greeted with the devastating reality of her father’s death.
The dead man’s daughter said that based on the information she received, the man who killed her father did so intentionally. She explained that no one could have recognised her father’s killer and the family is now baffled about who might have wanted her father dead.
“We heard that the man had on a hat, face mask, and he had on gloves so nobody saw his face… He come well prepared because he had on gloves… It is his face I can’t recognise. I don’t know of my father having problems with anyone.”
“We are just hoping that we can identify the person,” she said.
Meanwhile, the man’s niece, Shenisha Nicholson, said after her uncle received the first shot, he managed to make his way into the yard and called for his son who was in the house at the time.
The young man, she related, managed to pull his father over the veranda and into the house but the gunman was not satisfied.
“…he crawled and come inside… his son pulled him over the landing… when he coming over the landing he told his son, ‘Shemron I get shoot, help meh’. When his son was taking him inside, the gunman turned back and was trying to open the front door which my cousin had locked.”
“He [the gunman], saw that the backdoor was open but before my cousin could reach to the back door to lock it, the person was already in and he released more shots,” she explained.
The woman said her uncle was a good man who worked and was trying to maintain his family. She said he had only started working at the Ministry two years ago and had plans to travel soon. Unfortunately, that will not be possible.
Nicholson added that her uncle will be missed because he was always the life of the party.
“He is one individual that we can demand on to make any event in our family memorable… he does not cause trouble with anyone…The family will like to see the perpetrator behind bars, and to face exactly what he should be faced,” she said.
Following the shooting, two 9mm spent shells were recovered while CCTV footage from the area will be reviewed. The family, however, is calling on the Police to investigate the matter thoroughly which can lead to the apprehension of the perpetrator.
Police said several persons were also questioned.
