BUSINESSMAN Danian Jagdeo, known as ‘Damion,’ was shot three times at point-blank range in Adventure Village on the Corentyne during a daring robbery on Wednesday afternoon. 

The 36-year-old father of four of Lot 12 Section G, King Street, Williamsburg, Corentyne, was a phone card agent, who serviced the entire East Berbice, Corentyne area from Moleson Creek to New Amsterdam. At approximately 15:30hrs on Wednesday, he was making his rounds when he stopped at the Country Chef Food Shop and Soman’s Grocery in Adventure village.

This newspaper understands that one of the two bandits followed Jagdeo inside the shop and immediately opened fire on him. He was shot in the region of the abdomen, chest and back. He was taken to the Anamayah Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The gunman relieved Jagdeo of a bag which contained an undisclosed sum of cash and a quantity of phone cards before escaping with his accomplice, who was waiting on a motorcycle some distance away.

The gunmen subsequently abandoned the motorcycle, which bore a fake licence plate, at Friendship, located two villages away from the crime scene and boarded a silver-coloured Toyota Allion. Eyewitnesses described the duo as slimly built.

“I see when the bike pass, one a dem had on a helmet that cover he face and the other one…had on an army hat that fly off, but them didn’t stop to pick up the hat. I then see them stop by the street next to Anirude and jump in a silver- grey Allion wid the helmet in he hand, but I didn’t know is wah happen. I thought them getting away from the traffic police,” an eyewitness told this newspaper.

According to the shopkeeper, Mrs Soman, the businessman had suspected something was amiss, when the bandit followed inside the shop and moments before he was shot, Jagdeo asked her if she (Mrs Soman) knew the man behind him, to which she responded “no.”

After the first shot was fired, a struggle ensued between Jagdeo and the gunman and more shots were fired, with one bullet piercing a glass case in the shop.

“When he walk in, he asked if I know the guy coming in behind him and I said no, he probably come in to buy food… when the man reach inside, he pull out a gun and fire one shot at he and them start fuh struggle. I didn’t wait, I just hook the lock on the grill and ran upstairs with my daughter-in-law,” the terrified shopkeeper said.

Mrs Soman said she called the police and waited a few minutes until she assumed it was safe and returned downstairs to find Jagdeo lying face down in the shop.

‘I WANT MY HUSBAND BACK’
Meanwhile, the dead man’s wife, Mary Jagdeo, who is a teacher at Alness Primary School, received the tragic news from her son, while she was teaching after-school classes.

“I immediately dropped what I was doing and asked the cleaner to send the children home and when I reached by the shop, I saw him lying down. He was looking pale… when I felt him, he was really cold; I said to myself he’s dead! They killed him!” the crying woman said.

According to Mrs Jagdeo, she spoke to her husband about 10 minutes before receiving the dreadful news. She described him as a hardworking man, who toiled long hours to ensure his family is taken care of .

“I want my husband back! Why couldn’t they shoot him on his foot? Why they had to kill him? …I don’t believe this! Please tell me this isn’t true,” Mrs Jagdeo said in tears.

Meanwhile, investigators believe that the businessman was trailed throughout the day as the bandits waited for the right opportunity to strike. At Friendship Village, investigators were observed dusting the abandoned motorcycle for fingerprints. Commander of ‘B’ Division, Ian Amsterdam, is calling on persons who have information pertaining to the ownership of the bike to come forward.

Jagdeo’s death comes less than 24 hours after a mother of three was gunned down in her home at Tain, Corentyne, Berbice.