A rural constable was shot early yesterday morning during attempts to apprehend armed bandits who invaded a Werk-en-Rust home and stole over $1M in valuables.
The wounded constable was identified as Andrew Yaw, 51, who is attached to the Brickdam Impact Base. The men who shot him had earlier invaded the home of Dawn Blackman and her family, whom they terrorised before carting away a quantity of electronics.
According to a police statement, at around 2AM Yaw intervened after he observed the woman on Louisa Row, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, shouting for “thief” and running behind two men who had a television set in their possession. But in efforts to apprehend the men, he was shot and injured to his left hand by one of the men, who managed to escape, police added.
A source told Stabroek News that Yaw was patrolling in the area at the time of the incident. Yaw, during an attempt to catch the men, was shot at three times. He was struck once to his left hand. He was subsequently rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was treated and discharged hours after.
Blackman, who celebrated her 49th birthday on Thursday, explained that the robbers terrorised her family, including her two children, Syria Sawh, 4, and Keira Blackman, 10. Her husband, Kumar Sawh, was tied by the men, who threatened to shoot him during the attack.
Dawn said she was in bed when the two men, who both had their faces covered, barged into her bedroom. One of them was armed with a gun while the other was armed with a knife.
She said the men gun-butted both her and her husband while they demanded gold and money. She insisted that she did not have any and they eventually tied up her husband (Kumar) after they realised they weren’t getting anywhere.
After Keira was alerted to what was transpiring, she rushed to the bottom flat of the house but she was ordered to go back upstairs into her room by one of the men.
After Dawn maintained that she did not have anything, the men finally decided to take valuables from the home.
Dawn said she was hopeless after having the gun pointed at her and so she had to watch the men cart off items from her home, including stock from a small store at the house. The men made good their escape with two flat screen televisions, a computer, X-Box sets, and a cellular phone, among other things.
After the men left the house, she watched through her window and saw the men pack the stolen items into a car. After they kept telling her not to raise an alarm or they would shoot her, she said she knelt and begged them not to shoot. She even told them she would give them everything but they replied that they already had all they wanted. The men then left and Dawn subsequently untied her husband, after which she started to shout “thief.” Her cries woke neighbours, who called the police. As Dawn later stood on the roadside, she saw a motorcycle light coming towards her and decided to shout for help. It was the Rural Constable, Yaw.
Dawn said that her family appreciated the response of the police, who arrived on the scene promptly and assisted. It was them who Yaw to the hospital.
The woman added that the robbery has left her children traumatised. She said she too is even afraid to sleep since she fears the attack will happen again.
