Gunmen shoot bank guards
-three injured
Stabroek News
July 21, 2002
Gunmen last night opened fire on three security officers, two of whom were attached to Citizens Bank on Camp and Charlotte streets and the third to the Demerara Bank obliquely opposite.
Citizens Bank guards Monica Wills and Terrence Murray along with Neville Moonsammy of Demerara Bank Limited were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after the 8:30 pm shooting.
Reports indicate that after they had shot the guards the bandits relieved them of their firearms. They made no attempt to rob either bank.
Stabroek News understands that Murray was shot in the head while Wills received a bullet to her stomach and Moonsammy, to his leg.
In the treatment room of the GPHC last night both Wills and Moonsammy were conscious and able to talk about the incident while doctors nearby attended to the seriously wounded Murray.
According to Wills, two men on foot, one with a haversack and a black jersey approached Citizens Bank from the direction of Campsite and opened fire on herself and Murray.
Moonsammy meanwhile said he was gunned down almost simultaneously after a car with four men stopped in front his post at the Demerara Bank and fired at him. He said that he had noticed the vehicle circling the premises at least three times before the shooting.
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene Moonsammy was being hastily bundled into a mini-bus which rushed him to the hospital. There were pools of blood both on the road and the pavement in front of Demerara Bank.
There was a similar scene at Citizens Bank where Murray had fallen.
The glass door to the manager's entrance on Camp street had been pierced by a bullet. The door was also left open but subsequently secured by bank officials who arrived on the scene shortly after.
Curious onlookers from the immediate area quickly gathered at the site. An eyewitness told this newspaper that he had seen the car the bandits had used speeding down Charlotte street following the shooting. Another eyewitness recalled seeing blood gushing from the side of Murray's face after he had been shot.