WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Nearly two years after a gunman shot him in the chest outside his workplace, Raymond Dwyer returned for the first time to the West Palm Beach gas station parking lot where the attack happened — a place he said still feels “traumatic and surreal.”
Dwyer, a longtime employee who had worked at the business for six years, was shot Dec. 23, 2024, while carrying cash to deposit at a bank, according to West Palm Beach police and Dwyer’s account of the incident.
WATCH ‘Things Will Never Be the Same’: West Palm Beach shooting victim speaks out
“Someone approached me while I entered my car and shot me right in the chest,” Dwyer said. “I fell to the ground, and I was just screaming.”
Police say investigators later determined the suspect targeted Dwyer because he believed the victim was carrying a large amount of money. Detectives said surveillance video showed the suspect, dressed in black and wearing a face mask, waiting outside the business entrance before confronting Dwyer as he got into his vehicle.
During the struggle, the suspect shot Dwyer and fled in the passenger seat of a waiting red Jaguar sedan, police said.
Authorities recovered cash and shell casings from the parking lot. A firearm and live rounds were found about a half-mile away, according to police.
After a multi-county investigation, West Palm Beach police, assisted by the Boynton Beach Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service, arrested 24-year-old Vinesh Ishwar Maharaj on March 14, 2025, during a traffic stop on Interstate 95.
Maharaj faces charges including attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, attempted robbery with a firearm and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.
Dwyer later learned the suspect had once worked at the business.
“Very, very sad, because the person used to work for us,” Dwyer said. “Not in a million years” did he think the former employee would target him.
The shooting left Dwyer with severe injuries and lasting trauma. He said he was placed in a medically induced coma for several days and underwent major surgery after being rushed to St. Mary’s Medical Center.
Doctors removed a bullet from his lung, though fragments remain in his body, he said. He also lost about 1.5 liters of blood after collapsing in the parking lot.
“Pain and more pain,” Dwyer said of his recovery.
He said he now struggles with chronic pain, headaches, post-traumatic stress disorder and difficulty sleeping. He has not returned to work since the shooting and says he can stand for only short periods of time before needing to rest.
Dwyer continues treatment with multiple specialists, including a neurologist and cardiologist, while also attending psychotherapy and physiotherapy appointments.
“Things will never be the same,” he said.
The financial toll has also been steep. Dwyer said he has accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt while being unable to work.
“I have not worked from that day, so a lot of bills are piling up,” he said.
Now living with his son and relying on support from family members, Dwyer recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover medical bills and daily expenses.
“I’m not a guy who looks for sympathy or pity, but sometimes you have to ask for help when you can,” he said. “I think it’s the right time for people to see that I’m still here.”
Maharaj has not yet gone to trial. Dwyer said he is leaving questions of punishment to the courts.
“Whatever the law executes, I’m fine with,” he said. “Just some type of justice.”
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