Bandits storm Enterprise house, jump from moving car after police chase
A Plaisance businessman was injured during a robbery yesterday morning and an Enterprise family was terrorized before the bandits made off with their car which they eventually had to jump from after being pursued by the police on the East Bank.
Anthony Cummings, called Chico, of Victoria Road, Plaisance was attacked and robbed by three men, one of whom was armed with a handgun, at approximately 4 am yesterday. The 52-year-old businessman was shot during the robbery, police stated.
Police in a statement said Cummings had just closed his business place and was on his way to his house when he was confronted by the men and held at gunpoint. Cummings, according to the police, resisted the men and was shot in the back during the struggle.
The men managed to relieve Cummings of $30,000 before escaping. The businessman was later taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for medical attention where he remained up to yesterday afternoon in stable condition.
“To tell you the truth I can’t really remember if they shoot me then rob me or rob me then shoot me,” Cummings told this newspaper from his Open Ward hospital bed yesterday.
Cummings told Stabroek News that he’d just closed off his bar and had entered a passageway to the side of the building which led to his house. Just as he took his first steps along the passageway, the man explained, the three robbers launched their attack.
“After the whole thing happen I call out to my family and they bring me to the hospital,” the businessman said.
When Stabroek News visited the man’s bar shortly after 2 pm yesterday his older brother Edwin Cummings said that this was the first time any of them had been robbed. The bar which is known as Cummings Place, Edwin explained, was managed by his injured brother and their sister, Shirley.
“Shirley would be here in the day and he would take over at night….last night (Thursday) we had a lil passa-passa dance out here so that is why he close off so late,” Edwin said adding that, “Accumulating wealth is not everything. We have to start looking at our safety so when he is well then I think he’ll close off early.”
Relatives expressed their belief that the masked men who attacked Cummings are people “from right in the area”.
“I mean strangers wouldn’t use masks but these men were afraid that he would recognize them so they cover up good,” one relative reasoned.
According to Edwin, his brother was shot from behind at close range in his right shoulder; the bullet exited the man’s body.
Investigations, the police said, were ongoing. However, up to late yesterday afternoon relatives reported that no one had yet been taken into custody.
Enterprise robbery
Meanwhile, an Enterprise businessman and his family were terrorized early yesterday morning by two masked men who broke and entered their home via a window.
One of the men, police said in a press release, was armed with a gun. At approximately 2 am yesterday businessman Kenneth Hazelwood, his wife and three children were attacked and robbed by the men.
Police said that investigations have revealed that Hazelwood was in the upper flat of his home when he was confronted by the men. The businessman was held at gunpoint and his wife and children awakened after which they were all placed in a room.
The perpetrators then ransacked the house, the police said, stealing $14,000 cash, a quantity of jewellery and the family’s AT 212 Toyota Carina motor car before escaping. However, a quick response by the police led to the recovery of the vehicle.
According to the police, the car was seen retreating from a roadblock on the East Bank Demerara Road about 90 minutes after the robbery. The police pursued the vehicle but the two occupants made their exit while the car was still moving and managed to escape into the West Ruimveldt area. The vehicle was recovered by the police.
The police have not yet managed to arrest either of the men but investigations into this matter are continuing.
