This was supposed to be a week of celebrations for Denesh Lal. Today is his 47th birthday and he and his wife Nadya would have celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary tomorrow. Instead, there will be a funeral for the father of two, who was killed at a mini-mart in Cunupia on Tuesday.
Lal, a truck driver, of Ragoonanan Road, Cunupia, was shot multiple times by a masked gunman shortly after he entered a mini-mart located on the same compound as his home.
A female relative said Lal was on his way to pick up his six-year-old son at 6.20 pm when he stopped at the mini-mart. He had just parked his white Kia K2700 van, entered the shop and was speaking to the proprietor when a gunman came out of a white Nissan Note and walked towards the store.
The gunman, dressed in black jeans, a dark grey long-sleeved jersey, a black hat and a black ski mask, opened fire on Lal. He fled the scene in the waiting car.
A 48-year-old man, also of Ragoonanan Road, who was standing next to Lal, was shot in the left hip. He was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, where he was treated and is warded in stable condition.
Relatives said Lal was a “loving and kind but loud person” who liked fast cars and nice things. He was the sole breadwinner for his family.
“If you find whoever was behind this, it won’t bring him back,” said one of his relatives. “Nothing ever gets resolved so it feels like just another day.
“I know now that this has nothing to do with drugs or guns as he was not involved in anything yet it happened and we have no answers.”
An autopsy yesterday confirmed that Lal died from multiple gunshot wounds.