Narine
said
that
since
he
began
doing
business
there
several
decades
ago,
he
never
came
under
any
robbery
attack.
"I
ain't
opening
that
door
for
dead
now,
because
dem
gon
come
fuh
me
next",
he
remarked.
Narine
was
not
injured
during
the
attack
because
he
had
secluded
himself
in
a
room,
but
an
employee
and
Omash
Singh,
nephew
of
the
deceased
woman,
was
shot
in
the
left
great
toe,
hospital
officials
said.
A
customer,
Tyrone
Fletcher,
31,
of
Agricola,
Greater
Georgetown,
was
reportedly
shot
in
his
leg.
After
terrorising
the
family,
the
bandits
took
off
with
$7,000,
Narine
said.
He
related
to
this
newspaper
that
around
19:30
hrs
on
Monday
he
was
in
the
shop
attending
to
a
customer
and
had
to
leave
the
counter
area
to
make
some
change.
As
he
was
returning
to
the
counter
with
the
change,
Narine
said,
he
saw
two
men
armed
with
guns
trying
to
force
their
way
behind
the
counter
by
breaking
through
a
glass
case.
There
were
also
about
two
other
gunmen
outside
the
building
keeping
guard
for
their
accomplices,
an
eyewitness
reported.
Narine
said
that
as
the
bandits
were
forcing
their
way
deeper
into
the
shop,
his
employee
ran
towards
the
section
of
the
premises
where
metal
is
stored,
intending
to
escape
gunfire.
The
businessman
said
that
about
this
time,
he
too
ran,
but
to
the
upper
flat
of
the
building
where
his
wife
was
with
their
baby.
He
alerted
her
to
the
fact
that
bandits
were
in
the
building.
During
that
time,
he
heard
shots
being
fired,
but
could
not
say
from
which
direction.
He
then
heard
one
of
the
men
harassing
his
wife,
who
he
believed
the
men
had
stopped
in
the
stairway
demanding
money
and
jewellery.
Narine
said
he
heard
his
wife
telling
the
men
that
she
did
not
live
on
the
premises
and
so
she
could
not
tell
them
where
any
of
the
valuables
were
kept.
He
said
what
his
wife
told
the
bandits
was
true.
He
explained
that
she
spent
most
of
her
time
on
the
Essequibo
coast
attending
to
other
family
business
there.
The
businessman
said
that
after
the
last
shot
was
fired
in
the
building
there
was
silence.
It
was
at
that
point
that
he
suspected
something
had
gone
wrong
with
his
wife.
He
said
that
when
he
decided
to
come
out
of
his
hiding
place
to
check
on
his
wife,
he
saw
her
lying
head
downwards
on
the
stairway
with
blood
on
her
body.
"I
went
and
shake
her
hands
and
head,
and
she
didn't
respond.
So
I
realised
she
was
dead."
Narine
said
he
immediately
asked
a
few
persons,
who
were
around
to
assist
him
in
closing
the
shop
and
taking
his
wife
to
the
Georgetown
Hospital.
As
he
feared,
his
wife
was
pronounced
dead
by
medical
officials
at
the
institution.
Police
arrived
at
the
scene
shortly
after
the
bandits
fled,
and
soon,
throngs
of
curious
and
shocked
residents
gathered
outside
the
business
place.
Yesterday,
the
Guyana
Bar
Association
(GBA)
condemned
the
killing
of
Koshmantie
Singh
and
the
act
of
banditry
committed
on
the
family.
The
association's
President,
Mr.
Nigel
Hughes,
told
the
Chronicle
that
the
GBA
condemns
all
forms
of
violence
wherever
they
occur
with
no
reservations.
He
offered
his
deepest
sympathy
to
the
bereaved
family
Wednesday,
March
12,
2003
