A 47-year-old businessman of Henrietta New Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast was on Saturday night admitted to the Suddie Public Hospital after being shot thrice by three armed bandits who robbed his business place.
Speaking with Stabroek News from his hospital bed, Mark Warner, the owner of Anil’s Cool Place Liquor Restaurant and Bar said that he and his wife were the victims of a horrific ordeal.
Warner said that he is currently renting the lower flat of the building where he lives and also operates his business.
“Around 10 or 10:30pm on last night (Saturday), I was about to close up my business place when three armed men with 1 rifle and 2 big handguns came in and demanded cash from me. I was about to close the front entrance gate when the men came up to me. They took me inside and asked over and over for money but I kept telling them that I didn’t have any money and tried to negotiate with them but they keep asking me where the money is.
“When the men first approached me, I shouted and told my wife to run because she was about 35 feet away from where I was so she had a chance to run and hide right in the building. The bandits then took me into the kitchen and started searching for my wife but they didn’t find her.
They ask for my wife but I didn’t say anything to them because I was thinking that if they found her, they would torture her. When they shot me, they kept asking for my wife but I didn’t tell them.
“One of the shots hit me in the back of my head, the other one in my left leg and the next shot pass through my foot.”
The man said that he felt instant pain after the gunshots injured him but he was forced to go back to the kitchen where he handed over his wife’s purse with cash to the bandits.
“My wife left her purse in the kitchen and ran away so I give them the purse. It had $150,000 in it and a number of cell phone cards. The bandits also took a laptop computer.”
Warner related that after the incident, he drove himself to the Anna Regina Police Station where he made a report and was escorted to the Suddie Public Hospital by the police where he was admitted as a patient.
Meanwhile, his wife, Roxanne Warner was able to remain hidden until the bandits escaped and was not harmed.
Warner said that he is hoping that the police conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
Police investigations are ongoing.
