Two dead, one critical after gunmen invade Linden home

May 14, 2023 News

…two suspects arrested

Kaieteur News – Two persons were early Saturday morning killed during an armed robbery at Block 22, Wismar, Linden, Region 10.

Dead: 87-year-old Johnson Bowen

Dead are 87-year-old Johnson Bowen known as ‘Uncle Johno’ and his 58-year-old son- in- law, Manuel De Santos. The armed robbery occurred at about 04:00h. Police have since arrested two suspects and are on the hunt for another.

According to the relatives, three masked men entered the deceased home during the wee hours of the morning and demanded valuables. De Santos is a Brazilian National and a gold miner who recently returned to Linden from the interior. It is believed that the gunmen knew that De Santos recently returned to Linden and suspected that gold and money were in the house.

Both De Santos and Bowen tried to fend off the bandits with cutlasses but unfortunately they were fatally shot. De Santos’ wife said she woke up to noise from the living room and it was then she realized that there were armed bandits in their home.

The house where the armed robbery and shooting occurred

Her 20-year-old nephew, Denzil Roberts, also heard the noise and ran from his house next door. He was shot to his mouth. Roberts is listed as critical at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

De Santos’ wife told Police that two of the gunmen received chops to their backs. The resulted in the law enforcement officers followed a trail of blood to the back of Block 22, Wismar.

Commander of Region 10, Kurleigh Simon has since disclosed that two persons have been arrested. It is unclear whether the pair that was arrested has chop wounds about their bodies. Commander Simon said that investigators are aggressively pursuing the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn and Regional Member of Parliament (MP) Jermaine Figueira visited the relatives of the deceased. The officials called on persons with information about the crime to report to the nearest police station so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice.

Additionally, relatives of the deceased said that Saturday’s robbery has left them in additional pain since less than a month ago, Bowen’s wife was laid to rest.  “God why now I lost my great grandmother d other day and the family laid her to rest now we have to bury two more,” Johnson’s grieving granddaughter said.

• ‘Uncle Johno’, Commander of Region 10, De Santos’ wife, Denzil Roberts, investigators, Kurleigh Simon