SHARJAH // A security guard who was shot here early on Sunday as he delivered money to an ATM machine described the attack from his hospital bed yesterday. "It was around 12.40am and we were four security guards on duty delivering the money to the ATM," he said. "As I was taking the money to the ATM, a masked man shouted a word to me I didn't understand and then shot me in the leg. He ran away with the money I was taking to the ATM."
Zuhair Ahmed, a Pakistani national who has worked for the Transguard Security Group for 15 months, was speaking from Kuwait Hospital. He is expected to be discharged in the coming days. He was shot once in the leg as he approached the Noor Islamic Bank near the Buhairah Corniche. As he lay on the ground fearing for his life, his assailant went off with an undisclosed amount of money. "I could hear my colleagues asking if I was dead and another saying, 'Call the police'," he said. "In a few minutes the police ambulance brought me to this hospital." Witnesses had reported a gang of attackers, but Mr Ahmed was not sure of the number. Transguard was unavailable for comment.
Sharjah Police would not talk about the investigation, but Mr Ahmed said he had been questioned. "I have been interrogated by police several times," he said, "right from when I was still in emergency section, policemen could come and ask me what happened." When asked to elaborate, he replied: "I am not a criminal, never in my life. The police will make investigations and find the real thief. He cannot escape."
Mr Ahmed, 33, said that when doctors operated to remove the bullet he could see the "flesh of my leg falling". The wound is still painful, he said. "I can't lift the leg on my own. I need someone to help me move." He said that one of his friends from Kashmir had been visiting him in hospital. "He was the first I asked doctors to call when I gained consciousness," said Mr Ahmed, whose wife and young son remain in Pakistan. "I have not yet called my family to tell them this. I know they would be very afraid."
Acknowledging that "all jobs that deal with money and security have risks", Mr Ahmed said he was unsure about his future. "I don't know whether I will be going back to my work after I have recovered," he said. "It will all depend. Allah knows best what is going to happen." Sharjah Police would not talk about the investigation, but Mr Ahmed said he had been questioned. "I have been interrogated by police several times," he said, "right from when I was still in emergency section, policemen could come and ask me what happened." When asked to elaborate, he replied: "I am not a criminal, never in my life. "The police will make investigations and find the real thief. He cannot escape." Mr Ahmed, 33, said that when doctors operated to remove the bullet he could see the "flesh of my leg falling". The wound is still painful, he said. "I can't lift the leg on my own. I need someone to help me move." He said that one of his friends from Kashmir had been visiting him in hospital. "He was the first I asked doctors to call when I gained consciousness," said Mr Ahmed, whose wife and young son remain in Pakistan. "I have not yet called my family to tell them this. I know they would be very afraid." Acknowledging that "all jobs that deal with money and security have risks", Mr Ahmed said he was unsure about his future. "I don't know whether I will be going back to my work after I have recovered," he said. "It will all depend. Allah knows best what is going to happen." ykakande@thenational.ae
