The 19-year-old girl who was killed during a home invasion yesterday was shot three times to her chest by the gunmen.
Arianna Latchman and her father, Aaron were killed at around 15:00hrs at their Better Hope, East Coast Demerara home.
Aaron, a money changer on America Street, had just returned home in his vehicle when he was confronted by two armed bandits, who were waiting in the yard. His daughter was said to be with him at the time.
The man had just dropped off his other daughter, a 14-year-old, to after school classes.
The man and his daughter were taken to the upper flat of the house, where the bandits might have demanded money.
Neighbours recall hearing three gunshots ringing off first. It is suspected that the teenager was killed first. Her body was discovered in a pool of blood in the house.
After receiving a bag of money, the bandits reportedly made their way downstairs, holding the father at gunpoint.
They reportedly shot him twice before escaping in a waiting vehicle. He had gunshot wounds to the upper left side of his chest.
It is unclear how much money the men escaped with.
“Apparently like they traced he before, because they went in the yard waiting, is every day he does come home the same time. They bring he downstairs and they shoot he in the yard and left he right there,” a neighbour revealed.
According to the neighbour, as the men ran, money fell from the bag they were carrying.
A brother-in-law of the now dead man told this publication that he was on his cycle when he heard the gunshots.
“I just came home, and I went over to another neighbour to borrow two razor blade and I hear a knocking on the fence, but I say, man, must be the neighbour so I ignored it. But when I ride off now, I hear somebody seh somebody in Aaron yard, so I tun back my bike now and that’s when I hear bam! Bam! (making gunshot sounds) and then I see two men running at the head of the street; I can’t say how much of them, but I only saw two,” the man recounted in disbelief.
He indicated that he quickly ran over to lend assistance, breaking a padlock to gain access to the yard.
“So me and some others went over, we had to break the padlock for the gate and when we reach in, we see “Star Boy” lay down on the ground and I run upstairs: now, I see he big daughter sprawled pon the ground, I couldn’t watch at them, because didn’t feeling good,” the man explained.
The now dead man’s wife – an employee of the Dr Balwant Singh Hospital –and his younger daughter were not at home at the time of the incident.
At the hospital, the family were all seen in a distraught state, clinging to each other as they mourned.
