Three armed bandits on Saturday night invaded a Lima Sands, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) grocery store but quick thinking by the owner thwarted the robbery.
Nanda and Son Grocery Store in Lima Sands that was attacked by armed bandits on Saturday night
The incident occurred around 19:30h on Saturday at Nanda and Son Grocery Store in Lima Sands.
The shop owner, Patrick Mahase, told Guyana Times that his son had just arrived home and he opened the shop door to allow him in. The shop is attached to the house.
The shop door was ripped out by the bandits
However, as he was about to close the door, Mahase recalled noticing a masked man in the yard rushing towards him. Another bandit, armed with a handgun, was already at the shop door while the third man was at the back of the house.
The businessman related that upon seeing the two men, he rushed back into the shop and picked up two cutlasses which he used to “broadside” the walls in order to scare the bandits. He then called out to the neighbours to alert them of what was transpiring.
During this time, the bandits managed to break the shop’s door to gain entry but as neighbours began rushing to the scene, they were forced to abandon the robbery and escape.
“I was shouting ‘Bandits! Bandits! Help! Help!’ and neighbours starting coming out. But the bandits had already completely broken off the inner door of the shop which would have give them access [to the house]. But after seeing the crowd building up outside, the bandits like they get confused and decided to abandon the robbery and flee the scene,” the shop owner related.
A motorcyclist who was in the area at the time chased the suspects but had to retreat after he came under fire from the suspects.
The three bandits ran into an abandoned yard and made good their escape.
Mahase explained that prior to the attempted robbery, he had observed a car making a turn in front of his yard and some people exited before the vehicle drove off.
The man said at the time he was suspicious that the occupants could be bandits and were waiting for the opportunity to attack him.
Nevertheless, the matter was reported and the police are investigating the incident.
However, Guyana Times was told that while the police were heading to the scene after receiving the report, they stopped a car going out of the community. One of the male occupants claimed to be disabled and showed the officers a clutch that was in the vehicle and so the police let the vehicle go.
But Mahase said that the person matched the description of one of the bandits that had pounced on the shop earlier. He described the person as short and fair-skinned, with a bald head.
Meanwhile, on Sunday morning after news of the incident spread, members of the Anna Regina Town Council, the former Mayor and Vice Chairman visited the home of the businessman, who is the brother of popular television host Richard B Mahase.
