Omar, 51, of Lot 62 Baroboto Place, Enterprise `C', East Coast Demerara, was shot by three bandits who barged into his home on Wednesday night and fired two shots at him in their haste to collect their loot. The robbery took place around 8.15 pm.

On their way out of the area, the three met a man jogging and hit him in the head with a gun butt, before commanding him to lie on the road. The bandits escaped in the direction of the seawall. The jogger received seven stitches to the back of his head where he was hit with the gun.

One of the bullets fired by the bandits grazed Omar behind his head and flew into the air hitting the ceiling of the lower flat while the other hit him on his forehead. The man was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where he was treated for both wounds.

Yesterday when Stabroek News visited the man's home he had a bandage on his forehead and stitches at the back of his head.

"I just thank God for spearing my life, God is still good," the man said.

Recounting the ordeal, the man who is a former member of the Guyana Police Force and an ex-Guysuco worker, said he operates a minibus on the east coast but it was out of order on Wednesday. He said he was outside with his wife Leila Ramjohn and their ten-year-old daughter, but after some time his wife and daughter went upstairs.

"I deh sitting down and I just see three man jump over the fence just so fast, and I now get up right away and run to the door [the door leading to the inside of the lower flat] and push the door in."

However, the man said, the three bandits, who were all armed with guns and wore masks, forced the door open. The men then demanded money and he told them he did not have any.

"One a dem turn and sey `leh we kill he' and I tell dem not to kill me just tek all wah deh want. I had three rings on meh finger and me tell dem fuh tek dem," the man said.

He said the men searched the downstairs of the home but did not find much and as a result fired the two shots in his direction before collaring him and taking him to the upper flat where his wife and children were hiding. Again, they made demands for money.

Omar said when they pushed the room door open his wife and daughter were nowhere to be found and the men threatened to kill him if money was not handed over.

His wife then came out from behind the door where she had been hiding, and begged the men not to kill her husband, who was bleeding profusely at the time.

The men then took jewellery and an undisclosed sum of money and escaped by scaling the fence.

That same day, Omar had uplifted a large sum of money from the National Insurance Scheme office (NIS) in the area, most of which the bandits stole.

When they jumped over the fence onto the road they came face to face with the jogger who was returning to his home.

Speaking to Stabroek News, the jogger, who along with his wife and children were still shaken by the ordeal, said that while passing the home he heard what he thought were squibs and not gunshots. He said although there were streetlights and the place was quite bright there was no indication that Omar and his family were being robbed, adding that not even the next-door neighbours knew of the robbery.

He said when the three men scaled the fence and saw him he saw the surprise on their then unmasked faces and they fired a shot ordering him to lie on the ground. One of the three then hit him behind the head and searched his pockets but they found nothing. The men then fired more shots in the air before sprinting away.

The jogger said what he found surprising was that none of the attackers appeared to be over the age of 17. He said two of the youths were armed with rifles while the other had a pistol. He said that all three had on coats under which they hid the guns.

"That is what surprised me, the age of the men, and it was obvious that they were surprised when they saw me and they became confused because when one of them said they should use the public road to escape another said no," the jogger said.

Both the jogger and Omar lamented the rate of crime in the country, which sometimes see families building what could be termed fortresses to keep them safe.

Omar said he had never faced such an ordeal and both men said that it is not often that robberies occur in the area. The other half of Enterprise has felt the brunt of the crime spree over the last two years.

Omar told Stabroek News that even though he never experienced a robbery he has always been afraid. He recalled that whenever he got home late he would hurry from his gate to the door, afraid that there could be bandits lying in wait in his yard. He said Wednesday's night attack would force him to want to leave Guyana if he had an opportunity to do so.

The jogger and his wife also lamented the country's crime situation pointing out that persons who could leave the country would be forced to do so because they are afraid. It was noted that even though persons would go to lengths to secure their homes they were still at risk when they had to leave.

The jogger said when he visited the Vigilance Police Station only two officers were on duty and they told him that the other ranks were on patrol.