Five bandits, three of whom were armed with guns, entered a First Field Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara home and carted off cash and jewellery among other items.
Speaking with Stabroek News, Pamela Phillips, who occupies one of the four apartments in the building, said she and two of her children were preparing to go to bed when she heard sounds in the yard.
She said she asked her son to check and he told her he saw a shadow in the yard. He then attempted to close the window, but was too late as a man was already forcing his way in. Phillips said that after the first intruder came through the window, others followed.
She said she and her 13-year-old daughter were sitting on the bed and one of the bandits pointed a gun at them.
The intruders then went to the living room, where Phillips’ 16-year-old son was and one of the men hit him in his head with a gun, before tying his hands behind his back with the vest he was wearing. They then immediately put him to lie on the ground.
After hitting and choking her 19-year-old son, the men started to yell, “Where is the money? Where is the money?” Phillips said, while adding that they then started to ransack the entire place.
“I said don’t have any money and they then saw my ring and pull it off and emptied my purse and took my son’s lap top,” Phillips said.
The men then warned the family not to scream or shout and asked for the keys to the shop which is located at the front of the house. Phillips said she told the men she had no money and informed them that the owner of the shop lives in the top flat of the house.
The men then jumped out the window they had entered and ventured upstairs. Shortly after, Phillips said, she heard screams coming from the upper flat of the house and neighbours started to come out. The men then jumped over the fence and escaped.
Only the shop owner’s teenage son was at home at the time of the invasion.
Phillips said the men were unmasked with the exception of the one who had on an eye mask. She added that the intruders appeared to be in their late teens, but said she was too traumatized to remember what any of the men looked like.
Pablo Cupido, Phillips’ elder son, recounted that he was studying on his laptop when he suddenly felt someone grab his face before hitting him in the head. He said one of the men also n mashed his head with his foot while he was lying on the ground.
The men escaped with Cupido’s laptop.
Phillips said she and her family had travelled from the interior to live in Georgetown so she could attend classes at the University of Guyana and she has been in the city for the past 2 to 3 years. She also said that she believes the men attempted to enter her home a few days ago; she said she had heard noises in the yard and seen shadows a few nights before.
