Armed bandits on Monday evening stormed a Westminster, La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara (WBD) variety shop and robbed the owners and several customers of their valuables before escaping with one of their vehicles.
Around 8.55 pm on Monday, three men, one of whom was armed with a handgun, entered the variety store as the owners were about to close. They held the owners at gunpoint and relieved them of a quantity of cash, a pair of gold-earrings and a quantity of phone cards.
They also relieved several customers of their cell phones and cash before escaping with a Toyota RunX vehicle, PPP 8667, belonging to a resident, identified as Janella.
The attack was captured by a surveillance camera.
Up to yesterday, no arrest had been made by the police, who are investigating.
Janella told Stabroek News yesterday that she left home in the vehicle belonging to her husband in order to make a purchase at the shop. After realising that a robbery was taking place, she said she attempted to run away but was accosted by one of the bandits, who held her at gunpoint and relieved her of the keys to the vehicle.
She recalled that before she exited the vehicle, she noticed a man on the phone standing a short distance from the shop and another individual was lying flat on the ground in the shop.
“I was hurrying to catch the shop because they were about to close, so I seh the man mus ’e did drunk and he lay down there and I didn’t really think it was actually a robbery,” she said. She further noted that when she exited the vehicle, she witnessed one of the gunmen grab the individual who was on the phone and take him into the shop.
At that time, several other persons were already in the shop and were being held at gunpoint.
Janella said at this time, she attempted to run but was approached by a bandit, who placed a gun to her head.
“They took the man in the shop and after taking away everybody valuables they ask him to pass the car keys because like they think was he did driving and then the man point to me and I give them the key,” she said.
The traumatised woman said although she pleaded with the men to abandon the car somewhere, the vehicle was not recovered up to yesterday.
Recently there has been a spate carjackings and police have yet to recover the stolen vehicles or capture the perpetrators. Only last week, a Good Hope, East Coast Demerara family was robbed of their SUV while a University of Guyana student was robbed of his Toyota Premio by gun-toting bandits.
