Police launch investigation into attempted robbery at Citizens Bank ATM

Law enforcement officers are currently investigating an attempted robbery which occurred on Friday at around 10:15h at the Citizens Bank’s Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at Thirst Park, Georgetown.
Limited details are available, but it has been reported that the incident involved a businessman and a Venezuelan national. Guyana Times was informed that while leaving the bank, the suspect approached the businessman and attempted to rob him, but a scuffle ensued.
During the scuffle, the suspect allegedly aborted his mission and managed to escape on foot towards Alexander Village, Georgetown. In response, the Police were called in and immediately launched a search operation in the area to apprehend the suspect.
Up to news time, the Police had not issued any details about the incident nor were there reports to indicate that the perpetrator was arrested.
However, as a precautionary measure, the Thirst Park branch of Citizens Bank temporarily ceased operations for the day. All customers were advised to visit the Camp Street location for their banking needs until further notice.
The most recent attempted robbery that occurred at a bank in Guyana was on July 4, 2017, when armed bandits invaded the Water Street branch of Republic Bank Limited.
The three-man attack ended with one of the bandits being killed, while his two accomplices were injured during a shootout with the Police.
Twenty-four-year-old Elton Wray, also known as “Peas”, an agronomy graduate, who lived in Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD), and worked as a research assistant at the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) was killed during the invasion.
His accomplices were Keron Saunders of Mocha Arcadia, EBD, and 24-year-old Jamal Haynes of Norton Street, Georgetown, an employee attached to Republic Bank.
It was reported that the three men drove up to the bank early in the morning, just as employees were entering the building. They were transported in a vehicle which was reportedly hijacked the day before.
The gunmen entered the financial institution via the inner door of the ATM booth which they accessed from the exterior of the bank.
As panic broke out among the employees, Haynes held hostage one of his bank colleagues and made his way into the nearby Vendor’s Arcade.
At this point, security guards at the bank opened fire on the bandits, forcing the now dead man to escape the building, while the third member later surrendered himself to the Police.
Wray had escaped into a “cookshop” located in the Arcade where he was trailed by the Police.
He managed to make his way into the kitchen of the establishment, where he attempted to seek refuge in disguise as a cook. However, employees at that entity raised an alarm which resulted in Wray being shot by Police.
The bandit was then rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital along with Haynes and Saunders but was pronounced dead on arrival while his accomplices were admitted for treatment.
Following the robbery, the surviving suspects were charged and remanded to prison. They were later freed in June 2021. (G-9)