A 68-year-old lawyer was shot dead by a gunman, moments after purchasing an ice cream cone at the Grand Bazaar shopping mall in Valsayn yesterday.Wesley Debideen, of Mountain View, Maracas, St Joseph, was eating his ice cream while driving out of the shopping mall, when he was ambushed by a gunman who shot him eight times, police said.
Debideen represented former Hindu Credit Union (HCU) president Harry Harnarine at Commission of Enquiry into the collapse of CL Financial and the HCU in 2011. Debideen was also related to Magistrate Brian Debideen.Police said around 3.45 pm, Debideen was driving his blue Nissan Almera out of the mall compound when a man driving a red Mazda 323 pulled alongside him.
The driver got out, drew a firearm and without warning began shooting at Debideen through the windshield and side window. The gunman then returned to his vehicle and sped away.The incident was witnessed by scores of shocked shoppers who watched on helplessly.Officers from the St Joseph Police Station, led by Insp Mark and Sgt Katwaroo, responded to the scene and an all points bulletin was issued for the vehicle, which bore the licence plate–PAH 7477.
However, the suspect had not been detained up to late yesterday nor was the getaway vehicle found.Homicide detectives have not established a motive for the Debideen's murder, but said it had all the characteristics of a "hit."His murder raised the toll for the year to 243.In a press release issued yesterday evening, the ANSA McAL Group of Companies, which owns the shopping facility, sent out condolences to Debideen's family.
It also assured tenants and shoppers that security at the popular mall would be intensified."We will continue to do all that is necessary to ensure the safety and comfort of our customers and tenants at Grand Bazaar," the release said. Detectives of the Region Two Homicide Bureau are probing Debideen's murder.
