IT is a sight two children will never forget –- their mother being shot at point- blank range at their Lot 149 Sixth Street, Tain Settlement, Corentyne, home.

Lilawattie Mohamed, 45, a domestic worker, was at home with her 19-year-old son and 20-year-old daughter, when two masked gunmen barged into the house at approximately 23:30hrs on Tuesday night.

They ordered the woman and her son, Ashad Ishack, to kneel on the floor, while the daughter hid under a bed. The men asked “where the money at?” and when Lilawattie said she did not have any, one of the bandits placed the gun to her throat and fired a shot, killing her instantly.

The still terrified young man recalled that he woke up to loud banging on the front door, which they broke and eventually gained entry. According to Ishack, he and his mother tried to prevent the men from entering the bedroom by bracing the door, but they were overpowered.

“Them bruk the front door to come and then take the bar from the door and try to break the room to the bedroom. We were all in the room, so my sister hide under the bed, my mother was screaming, then we both try to brace the door so that they wouldn’t come in,” the terrified young man said.

He explained that the only words spoken by one of the intruders were, “Where the money at?” after which his mother was shot dead. In tears, the young man said his mother collapsed beside him, covered in blood.

The gunmen immediately escaped by scaling the fence and firing a round in the air. They left empty-handed. According to residents, the two men were seen running towards the back of the community.

Premeditated Murder
Ishack said that after the men escaped, he quickly turned on the lights in the house and called out to neighbours for help. He said his sister was too terrified to move, but held onto her mother crying and begging for her to “stay with we.” Shortly after, a neighbour assisted in taking the woman to the Port Mourant Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Relatives are now baffled as to the motive for the incident, given the fact that nothing was stolen from the house. They believe that it was not robbery, but a premeditated act of murder.

Mohamed was described as a quiet and hardworking single parent, who provided for her children.

“She get along with everyone, just one person does trouble her and her daughter and she does get problem with him,” a relative revealed.

The relative explained that the alleged “trouble maker” owns and operates a Barber Shop in Tain and would usually torment Mohamed.

“He does go around and spread lies about her and would tell people he deh with the daughter, when it’s not true and other things.”

Meanwhile, Divisional Commander Ian Amsterdam and a team visited and sympathised with the family on Wednesday morning.

According to the commander, “Based on information the police have arrested a man who would taunt and issue threats to the woman.” The suspect remains in custody and the investigation continues.

The woman leaves to mourn her three children, one of whom is pregnant, and other relatives and friends.