By Bhisham Mohamed:-

A man who was accused of killing his girlfriend and a delivery man and attempting to murder an ex-Policeman was early Sunday morning executed while he lay in bed with his partner and their 18-month-old son.

Travis Rudder was freed in 2011 for the 2007 killing of his then girlfriend, Donnis King. He lived at Lot 130 Lindley’s Avenue, Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara (EBD). He was also acquitted of manslaughter and armed robbery charges. His 18-month-old son, Travic Rudder, and 31-year-old girlfriend, Mawanza Gill, of Lot 149 Regent Street, Georgetown remain in serious but stable condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

According to information received, Rudder, Gill and their son were in one of the rooms in the house while his mother and his younger brother were in another when several men with 9mm pistols with extended magazines opened fire through the bedroom window.

Based on reports, Rudder was shot several times while his  girlfriend was shot about seven times to her legs and the baby was shot five times – including to his abdomen, hand, ankle and groin. The Police have since recovered a total of 26 9mm warheads at the scene.

When Guyana Times visited the scene later on Sunday morning, the house was locked up with no one in sight. At the back of the flat concrete house, there was a wheelbarrow which the perpetrators reportedly used to elevate themselves to get access to the window that had several louver panes missing.

A neighbour, Justin Teixeira, who took the injured toddler to the hospital, recalled that about 01:30h that morning he heard a hail of gunfire, which lasted for about 15 minutes. As the place grew quiet, he heard Gill screaming for assistance and that her baby was shot.

White car
The young man noted that as he ran towards the house, he saw a white car driving from the scene with about three occupants. Without hesitation, he ran into the house where he saw Gill in a corner of the room with no sight of the baby, but soon after he realised the baby was under his father who was lying on his back with several gunshot wounds to his chest.

“After I see the baby and he was still moving, I grabbed him, clutched him to my chest and attempted to run … but the mother begged me to take her as well, but I couldn’t lift her due to her size… and she was shot to her feet, so I think she would survive, but the baby’s guts was coming out which I thought was more serious,” Teixeira stated.

He said he jumped into his car and drove to the Georgetown Public Hospital with the child on his chest. On his way, he phoned 911, but there was no answer, so he decided to contact Police Headquarters, Eve Leary and related the ordeal, and the person on the other end of the line promised to send ranks and an ambulance to the scene.

At the Hospital compound, he handed the baby over to nurses who immediately rushed him to the Accident and Emergency Unit after which he underwent surgery.

Teixeira was not allowed in the area and was taken to the Police Outpost where he gave a detailed report to the Police. After a while, the ambulance arrived with Gill who was also rushed to the theatre.

Rudder’s body was taken to the Lyken Funeral Home where it is awaiting a post- mortem.

Guyana Times was told that Rudder lived with his mother and siblings, while the mother of his child and baby lived with her relatives on Regent Street.

She only went to the house on Saturday evening so that her son could be with his father on Father’s Day.
This newspaper also understands that Rudder is a known character in the community hence on the night of the shooting, no one rendered assistance. This was not the first time there was an exchange of gunfire at the house. Channa bombs were also lobbed at the man’s Nandy Park home several times.

He was also implicated in the attempted robbery of Neezam Khan of Grove, EBD, which left one man dead and one injured.  In November 2007, Rudder and his close associate Sivon Warner, were accused of murdering Demerara Oxygen Company Limited (DOCOL) employee, Ivor Cordis. Rudder was also accused of attempting to murder ex-Policeman Toney Williams on November 19, 2007. It was also alleged that on May 15 in the same year, while being armed with a gun, he robbed Nicola Barkley of one Motorola cellphone valued $32,000 and $17,000.

Earlier, in March of that year, Rudder allegedly shot his then girlfriend, Donnis King at her parents’ home at Bagotstown, EBD, during an argument. It was reported that the couple had an altercation, during which she expressed a desire to end the relationship. She was shot in the abdomen. After two months in the hospital, King succumbed to her injuries in the High Dependency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital.