… son in stable condition after being shot in the chest

AFTER fleeing her family home two months ago because of domestic violence, 36-year-old Teekadai Atiya Solomon was on Tuesday gunned down in Georgetown by her estranged husband, who shot her 10 times before turning the weapon on their 10-year-old son and then fatally on himself.

According to a police release, the incident occurred around 11:50hrs at Lot 199 Charlotte and Bourda Streets, where Solomon, an ExxonMobil employee, had been living with her son since leaving the marital home at North-East La Penitence.

The police reported that on the day of the tragedy, her husband, Alroy Solomon, drove up in a black motor car (registration number GUY 94), rushed into the yard and opened fire.
“The 36-year-old man then reportedly exited the vehicle and ran into the compound, after which the woman was heard screaming, followed by several suspected gunshots. The victim ran out of the yard and was followed by the suspect, who discharged several rounds at her, causing her to fall on the ground in front of her apartment, south on Charlotte Street, where she remained motionless,” the police statement said.

Teekadai sustained multiple injuries: two gunshots to the abdomen, two to the chest, two to the forehead, and others to her limbs and hip.
Moments later, the suspect re-entered the yard, shot his 10-year-old son in the left side of the chest, and then turned the weapon on himself, firing a single shot to the temple.
Public-spirited citizens rushed the wounded child to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, where he remains in a stable condition.

Crime scene investigators recovered a 9mm pistol with a magazine containing six live rounds, along with a matching spent shell next to the suspect.
The bodies of both Teekadai and Alroy Solomon were removed to the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, awaiting post-mortem examinations.
Neighbours told reporters that the woman had recently moved into the area after a series of personal hardships, including the loss of the couple’s home to a fire and a hit-and-run accident that left her with a broken arm.

They also disclosed that there were at least two previous shooting incidents at the Charlotte Street residence, suspected to have involved the estranged husband.
In the wake of the tragedy, President, Dr Irfaan Ali has stressed the critical importance of preserving families, saying that he was “deeply distressed and saddened” by the events, adding that the tragedy underscored the urgent need to safeguard the family unit as the foundation of society.

“The family remains the basic cell of human society, and its preservation is essential to our nation’s well-being. When families break, society bleeds, but when families thrive, a nation stands tall,” the President explained.

He reaffirmed his government’s commitment to strengthening support systems for households, noting that families must be given the resources to be nurtured, to grow stronger and to flourish.