Three armed bandits were killed on Thursday evening during a shoot-out with Police at Norton and Victor Streets, Lodge, Georgetown. The three bandits have been identifies as Junior Nurse, of Albouystown; Shawn Browne Jr; and another known as “Pretty Bit” and “Skeete”.
One Police rank who was also shot to his knee was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) by his colleagues. Up to press time, he was admitted a patient and was listed as stable.
Based on reported received, at about 20:00h, Neville Lesley of Lot 46 Norton and Victor Streets, was closing the doors to his home when he saw someone scaling the fence but by the time he retaliated, he was held at gunpoint. The gunman demanded gold and cash as he took the man into the house.
His two other accomplices also made their way into the man’s home. Each of them was carrying a handgun.
According to Lesley, prior to the invasion, he had just put his five-year-old son to bed but upon hearing the commotion, the child woke up and ran downstairs. “They tell me if I don’t keep me son quiet, they’d shoot me and meh son,” the man related.
Lesley said he has a relative who recently returned from the US and the bandits had enquired about her. “They ask whey the girl that come in the country deh, where the gold and money they get and all sort of things. I said all these things that we see up here is share weakings, they aint get no value. You come to rob me but I deh home two months now, I don’t really understand what yall doing,” the still shaken man told reporters.
Lesley further explained that he was placed on the ground with his son when he heard someone on the road yelling, whom he assumed to be Police, that armed men went into the house and locked the door.
Distracted by the Police presence, Lesley and his son managed to escape the bandits and hid in one of the bedrooms, where he removed the louvres in the window and lowered his son from the upper flat of the house.
The child was safely collected by a Police Officer, and Lesley jumped through the window to safety.
He reportedly told the Police that he explained to the gunman that there was nothing valuable in his home, but the bandits forced him to the upper flat where they searched for cash.
“He went in the bedroom them and thing and put me to lie down with my son and tell me they will shoot my son and shoot me if I don’t find the gold and money. I said I don’t wear gold or anything, he check my chain and see it was a silver chain, he checked my hand and see, I said I home about two months now looking for it just like y’all so I don’t understand what you telling me. He telling he other partner watch we going to have to do this man what we does do to anybody else,” the man told media operatives.
Lesley man stated that he told the bandits that they did not have to harm him but his plea was met with slaps across the face.
“He carry me in the back room, and is the back room they start tumble the barrel, checking checking. Right now the whole house tumble up, take out my wallet and lil money I had inside, pelt down the wallet, after they hear the Police come they run down the steps. By the time they go to run down the steps, I push everything at the back of the door and one of them force himself and come in back but end up coming out back”.
According to Leslie, he did not get the opportunity to telephone the Police for help, but stated that the ranks arrived promptly at the scene.
It was at this point that the shoot-out between the armed bandits and law enforcement officials commenced. According to information from residents in the area, two of the bandits were shot and appeared to be dead, while the third was also shot but surrendered to the Police.
The bodies of the two dead gunmen, along with the injured bandit, were also taken to the GPHC but the third man subsequently died while receiving medical attention. The Police have since removed two handguns from the scene with several rounds of spent shells.
This comes less than two weeks after three bandits were shot and killed during a Police shoot-out in Black Bush Polder.
