Former Magistrate says …Shooting was an execution attempt
…loses kidney, suffers spinal damage
Former Magistrate, Fazil Azeez, believes the attack he suffered two Saturdays ago that resulted in him being shot, was definitely not a robbery attempt but a clear case of a “hit”.
Fazil Azeez
Azeez, who is recovering at home after more than a week in a private hospital following the shooting, told this newspaper that he is still puzzled why an attempt was made on his life. He is hoping that the police will provide some answers.
On April 25, last, a lone gunman shot Azeez in the stomach after turning up at a construction site in the Eccles Housing Scheme, where Azeez is building his house, under the pretext of looking for a job.
As Azeez slumped to the ground the gunman fled the scene making no attempt to grab the bag of money that the former Magistrate had in his hand.
Azeez was picked up and rushed to the hospital where he was immediately admitted.
Doctors were forced to remove one of his kidneys, a part of his spleen and he is also suffering from spinal injuries.
When contacted by this newspaper yesterday, Azeez said that he has been at pains to point out to the police that the attack was not a robbery.
He based his belief on the fact that he had a large amount of cash on him at the time and that the gunman made no attempt to even request the money, nor did he attempt to forcibly retrieve it.
“This guy came to kill. I am still puzzled to determine what motivated him to do it,” Azeez told Kaieteur News.
Workers at his construction site said that the gunman apparently abandoned his mission when he saw that they were closing in on him after Azeez fell to the ground.
The incident occurred a few days after Azeez and a group of Muslims from West Coast Demerara paid a courtesy call on members of the opposition coalition, A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC).
“The police have this theory of robbery…robbery from whom?”
“I told them (police) not to pursue robbery (as a motive) that it will get them nowhere,” he added.
Kaieteur News understands that the police have detained a man whom they believe is the shooter but they are awaiting the results of an identification parade.
“The police did call me to tell me that they held the guy last Saturday. I sent my guy to see if he could identify him,” Azeez disclosed.
It is believed that the suspect was picked up during a police raid on the East Bank Demerara over the past weekend.
Divisional Commander Clifton Hicken would only confirm, yesterday, that the police had several persons in custody, without specifying if they were connected to the Azeez shooting.
Azeez was a broadcaster at the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation before serving for several years as the General Manager.
He then pursued studies in law and later became a Magistrate for a few years before returning to private practice.