Police have arrested a US-based Guyanese man after he reportedly shot his reputed wife four times in the head with a pellet gun while she was breastfeeding her one-year-old baby girl.
Farida Mohamed, 26, was shot during an argument with her partner in the wee hours of Wednesday at their Lowland Hope, East Coast Demerara home.
She was initially taken to the Mahaicony Public Hospital and later transferred to a private hospital in Georgetown. Her family was then advised to take her to the Georgetown Public Hospital where she subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 and was transported to the Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara.
The News Room understands that her condition is listed as stable and doctors will remove the pellets from the head via surgery once she is COVID free.
The News Room understands that the suspect was arrested after he took Mohamed to the Mahaicony Hospital at about 01:30hrs on Wednesday.
“There is where he get caught at the hospital, he thought was a minor thing I guess,” Mohamed’s mother, Raahdya Chowbay told the News Room on Thursday.
According to Chowbay, the suspect usually utilises the same shotgun for hunting.
The couple has been together for about four years and has a one-year-old child; Mohamed has two older children, age 9 and 6, from a previous relationship.
Chowbay claimed that the couple got into an argument on Tuesday night during which the suspect allegedly physically abused her daughter.
“…she was trying to defend herself and she pushed him – there were two other people went by them, friends, the man, he wife and he children – and like he [the suspect] feel a way about it, that she do him something like that in front of them [the friends] and when they go in the room, he close the door.
“She was breastfeeding the baby and he has a gun that he usually shots birds and animals and he took it and put it on her head,” Chowbay explained.
Mohamed’s nine-year-old daughter was also locked inside the room and witnessed the entire incident.
“The nine-year daughter can able to say what went on, they were in the room and they could have heard everything that was going on,” Chowbay stated.
Chowbay claimed that since the suspect arrived in Guyana early in December last year, the couple has been arguing and fighting.
“I am made to understand with the neighbours them, actually every day since this man come from New York, since the 12 of December, since then he does be tormenting her, cursing her and hit her which she was hiding from we,” the mother explained.
According to the mother, last week she noticed one of Mohamed’s eyes was “black and blue” but when she inquired, her daughter said her phone fell on her face.
“This is overbearing, she cannot hide it anymore.”
“Do you think I would like something else like this to happen to any of my other children, any of my family or anyone in this world,” an emotional Chowbay said.
The family is fearful that once the suspect is released from police custody, he will try to flee the country.
“I would glad if my daughter can get justice for this. It is not something nice, I can feel the pain my daughter is going through.”
