Gunmen storm Rose Hall grocery shop, escape with millions

Gunmen armed with two AK-style rifles and a hand-held firearm stormed G Sudhai and Sons Grocery Store in Rose Hall on Saturday evening, forcing businessman Gurudat Sudhai, his wife, staff, and customers to lie face-down on the floor before escaping with millions of dollars in cash.
At the time of the attack, the shop was busy, and Sudhai said there were four customers inside the store along with three staff members, while he, his wife, and their two sons were also present. He recalled that he was seated at the cashier’s desk when the three masked men rushed in from the back of the building, weapons already drawn.

According to Sudhai, the men were heavily armed, carrying what he described as two AK-style rifles and a hand-held firearm, and immediately ordered everyone to lie on the ground. He said the gunmen pressed a weapon to his head and repeatedly shouted for the cashier’s key, warning him not to move.
Sudhai said the gunmen then turned their attention to his wife, dragging her by the hair and forcing her to hand over the cashier’s key before ordering her to open the register.
“They cranked the gun on us… it was too much,” he said, recalling the ordeal, which he estimated lasted about four minutes before the masked men fled with the cash.
“Very, very traumatising”
The businessman said the ordeal has left his family shaken, describing the attack as “very, very traumatising” and saying they now feel unprotected despite years in business. He noted that the store was active at the time, with customers inside and vehicles parked outside, making the brazen nature of the attack even more alarming.
Sudhai disclosed that this was the fourth time his business had been robbed in the past 15 years, with the last incident occurring about two years ago. He said the repeated attacks have heightened his fears and reinforced his concerns about security in the area.
Sudhai pointed to what he described as multiple escape routes behind the commercial area and said there are significant security gaps that criminals continue to exploit. He suggested that an outpost or permanent security presence in the vicinity could serve as a deterrent, noting that the area serves as a busy commercial hub.
He also called for increased police patrols and the installation of surveillance cameras, while acknowledging that hiring private security, which he said could cost as much as $260,000 per month, is financially challenging in a highly competitive retail environment.
“We are very, very scared,” he said, adding that the trauma of seeing his wife threatened at gunpoint remains difficult to process.
Sudhai warned that unless stronger measures are put in place, small business owners in Rose Hall will remain vulnerable to heavily armed criminals who appear to be operating without fear.
Police are on the hunt for the robbers, who it is believed are all teenagers, with the youngest being about 15 years old.
Meanwhile, last Monday night at about 21:00h, three armed men stormed Shanie Liquor and Grocery Store in Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, where owner Shanie Ramsingh was closing up and speaking with a customer. One of the suspects fired a shot into the air as the trio confronted those inside the shop, pointing guns at their heads before escaping with cash and a vehicle. The vehicle has since been recovered.