Gunmen rob, beat Corentyne family

A Corentyne, Berbice family was attacked by three armed bandits at their Port Mourant, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) home on Sunday evening.

Reports are the attack occurred at about 21:30h at Lot 227 Dispensary Dam Ankerville, Port Mourant, Berbice. This newspaper was told that Indira Samaroo along with her husband and teenage son were all at home when three masked men approached – one was carrying a firearm and two had cutlasses. The attack occurred after a family friend left the couple’s home. According to Samaroo, one of the bandits went straight to her husband and hit him with the gun. He was taken into the shop where he was gun butted and told to hand over $4 million. Samaroo said that her husband denied having so much money and the gunman cuffed him to the face and stomped him to his chest. Meanwhile, Samaroo said she was hit in the face with a side of a cutlass and she fell out of the hammock. She said that one of the intruders then demanded that she get up but she was unable to do so.
“He grabbed me by my hair and dragged me right across the concrete from outside and carry me inside the house. He asked me where is the money and I asked him what kind of money and he said the money that you have. So I told him I don’t have money and he said yes, I have money that’s you wanted the $4 million,” she related. The woman related that she told the bandit that she has never seen what $4 million looks like and has never held $4 million in her hand.
This newspaper was told that one of the intruders then turned his attention to the teenager, telling him that if his mother does not hand over the money he will kill her. However, the teen, this newspaper was told, while begging the bandits not to kill his mother, informed the gunmen that his parents do not have money.
According to Samaroo, she was taken into a bedroom and handed over a bag with money but the small sum of cash angered the men, who threatened to then kill her son.
“I told him I have no more money,” the traumatised woman said. She recalled that the bandits then pulled her husband out of the shop and put him to sit with her and her son while they ransacked the house.
The man then picked up three cellular phones and an electronic tablet along with three wristwatches and the businessman and his son’s wallets.
“Then they demanded the keys to the car and say that they want the haversack that my son come home with,” the woman said. She said that she told them that the haversack was in the car. She said that the bandits took the family to the washroom and locked them inside. Moments later, they returned and told them not to make any noise or they all will be killed.
After some time, the Samaroos came out and realised that they were alone. The woman recalled that the entire ordeal lasted about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, when the bandits made their entry from the side of the house, neighbours saw and called the Whim Police Station but the phone went unanswered.
Meanwhile, Nadira Samaroo, who lives in Rose Hall Town, said she received a telephone call from her brother about the robbery and went over to the Rose Hall Police Outpost and informed them of the robbery.
She said they were able to make contact with the Whim Police Station.
However, the injured woman said four officers from the Rose Hall Outpost arrived at her home about 30 minutes later and the Whim Police Station ranks, who are closer, arrived more than two hours later.
Only recently, three armed bandits pounced on three overseas-based Guyanese at Fyrish on the Corentyne. Two of them had cutlasses and one had a firearm.
There have been reports of persons on the road along the lower Corentyne being attacked by three masked men on bicycles. Reports are that three men were seen hurrying out of Dispensary Dam at Ankerville on Sunday night on bicycles.