The Director of the Guyana Deaf Mission, Lawrence Hallahan believes his movements were being carefully observed by a man who attacked him at gunpoint on Wednesday morning and relieved him of more than $100,000 in cash and other valuables shortly after he had returned to his Vlissengen Road office from a city bank.
Hallahan last night told Stabroek News that after he had left the Robb Street branch of Scotiabank, he went to Regent Street where he caught a minibus and headed to his office. He noted that his movements have been the same for the past 6-8 weeks and he believes during this period he was being observed.
“For the past weeks I have been going to the bank to withdraw cash for the church to pay bills and my suspicion is that I was being observed during this time. I am convinced that I might have travelled in the minibus with the perpetrator,” Hallahan said.
He said that the robbery was well orchestrated since it lasted no more than two minutes, after which the gunman fled and hopped on to a waiting motorcycle.
Hallahan explained that approximately 10 minutes after he returned from the bank the bandit struck.
He noted that at around 11 am, he heard a rap on their office door.
“I went and opened a small part of the door because I did not know who it was. When I opened it the bandit used his left hand and held on to the door to keep it open and then pulled out his gun with his right hand and started saying ‘gimme the money, gimme the money’,” he recounted.
Hallahan said that he handed over the money he had in his pocket and other petty cash.
“During the robbery he was waving the gun all the time and searching for money. I managed to run out of the office and called out for help… he ran behind me but (then) ran in the opposite direction and jumped on the motorbike his friend was riding,” the director related.
He said that taxi drivers responded to his alarm but the bandit still evaded them.
The director further explained that their Lot 8 Vlissengen Road, Newton, Kitty office does not have any CCTV cameras.
Apart from cash, the bandit stole two flash drives, two head phones and other valuables.
