-ambushed seconds after closing business
The still of the night at Mocha Arcadia, East Bank Deme-rara (EBD) was shattered on Thursday when two armed, masked men attacked a woman seconds after she had locked her business place, battered her with concrete blocks and shot her in the arm before escaping with the bag of money she had.
At the time of the attack which occurred just after 11 pm in an old fowl pen, Petra Ming, a mother of two, was making her way to her home, which is located about two minutes away from the building that houses the internet café, which she operates. The fowl pen is between the woman’s home and the café.
Ming sustained injuries to her head and other parts of the body, and is now a patient of the Georgetown Public Hospital, where she is said to be in a stable condition but in severe pain. Up to press time last evening the men involved in the carefully planned attack had not been held.
This incident, which residents said was the first robbery in nearly a year, sent shock waves throughout the community and raised suspicions that fellow villagers may have played a part in it.
The lack of transportation at the Mocha Police Station was heavily criticised by residents, who informed this newspaper that officers from the Providence Police Station, which is farther away, were the first to arrive on the scene.
One resident told this newspaper that when her relative went to the community’s police station to report the attack, officers there said they already knew of it.
When Stabroek News arrived at Lot 331 First Street, Mocha Arcadia, Comfort Plus Internet Café was shut tight and the police had not yet returned to the area to conduct their investigations. Up to when this newspaper left the area about half an hour later, they had still not arrived. When this newspaper spoke to a relative shortly after midday, reports were that investigators had still not visited the area and concerns over the crime scene being left unattended were raised.
The fowl pen where the attack occurred told of just how vicious the incident was. Two concrete blocks that were used to beat the woman were covered in dry blood while a roll of brown masking tape and one of the woman’s slippers lay nearby.
The woman’s sister-in-law Maleah Ming, who lives above the internet café, told Stabroek News that at the time of the attack the woman’s two children were asleep. She said Petra’s husband had migrated several months ago to work.
The woman opined that it was a carefully planned attack since the men had hidden behind an old zinc sheet near the entrance to the fowl pen and then ambushed the victim as she passed.
Maleah said the area where the incident occurred was a bit dark and her sister-in-law would usually lock up her business around the same time each night. She has been operating the business for six years and this was the first time she was robbed, Maleah said.
She noted that the attackers had masking tape, which they had probably planned to use on their victim but did not succeed since she fought back.
“Like they go to mask she up but they didn’t get a chance because she fight real hard,” the woman said.
Besides beating her, the men also put a gun in Ming’s mouth, threatening to shoot and then shot her in the arm.
Maleah said neighbours heard scuffling and then a gunshot and this caused them to venture outside. It was then that they discovered Ming lying on the floor of the fowl pen in a pool of blood.
The gunmen escaped with their loot, which was around $30,000 by jumping over Ming’s fence and running through her yard into cemetery road.
Stabroek News was told that residents in the area called the Providence Police Station. Police from that station arrived about ten minutes after the men had fled and took the woman to the hospital.
Maleah said her sister-in-law’s blood loss was unbelievable. She said that apart from the huge blood pool on the floor of the fowl pen, the carpet, sheet and comforter that were placed in the police vehicle with the woman was also soaked with blood.
A woman who lives a stone’s throw away from where the incident occurred said that her husband woke her up just after 11 pm and asked her if she had just heard a gunshot. The woman said her husband had heard Ming pass near their bedroom window on her way home a little while earlier.
The woman said she was still in shock over what happened and recalled that she was in the woman’s business place earlier in the night to get credit for her cellular phone.
She, like other villagers, said this was the last thing they expected to happen in their community.
This newspaper was informed that just about a year ago bandits attacked and robbed a shop several lots away from where Ming’s business is located.
Meanwhile, the woman’s children aged ten and eight years old would be cared for by Maleah who has since said that a light will be placed in the yard to brighten up the area.
Intense pain and immense shock
Yesterday midday villagers, family and friends flocked Ming’s bedside as she continuously cried out in pain. The woman’s entire head, right arm where she had been shot and two fingers on her left hand were bandaged. Her lips were also swollen and she was receiving saline.
When those gathered heard that she had been shot, they expressed shock and many were heard thanking God for sparing Ming’s life.
Despite the pain she was in, Ming managed to speak briefly with this newspaper. She said her entire head was “stitched up” and her arm had both entry and exit wounds from the bullet.
She told this newspaper that her throat hurt as well, confirming that a gun had been placed in her mouth.
Police are continuing their investigations.
