Shooting victim and principal share tales of daylight robbery

The mid-morning robbery, like the recent daring attacks on the business community, is a signal of just how serious crime has become in the old capital in these crippling economic times.  Marion Ali got firsthand accounts from a passer-by who was shot, and interviews from the Police and the Principal of Holy Redeemer Primary School who had to suspend classes because of the shootings.  Here’s that report.

Marion Ali Reporting

When the robbery occurred, twenty two year old Natasha Beaton was just about to enter the travel agency adjacent to Accents Store when she walked into harm’s way.

Voice of injured passer-by

“ When we reach the airline door we see this man come out and he mi di struggle fi get eh gun and when he mi di get eh gun then a next man come out and fire shot after the man. No, not the robber, the man weh they jack. He start fire shots after the man and then when he start fire the shots we mi di run and two more shot gone off and when they next two shots gone off I feel I get shot.”

The police have recovered a gun and several expended shells from the scene as well as the stolen cash.

Fitzroy Yearwood, Police Press Officer

fitzroy yearwood

“Police recovered a .38 revolver from the same seventeen year old assailant and found an undisclosed amount of cash in hidden in his pants front.  We believe was the proceeds from the robbery inside Accents.”

Marion Ali

The other robber or the alleged robber, where is he?

Fitzroy Yearwood

“Well, he is still at large and we know for a fact that he was armed because he shot himself. But presently we are following a series of leads. Out here we had chaos and because of the chaos, he managed to escape during the chaotic time.”

When the incident occurred it was break time at Holy Redeemer Primary and many of the students witnessed firsthand what was transpiring.  Principal at the school, Molly Hulett, had to suspend classes for the day because as she told us, the children were traumatized.

molly hulett

Molly Hulett, Principal, Holy Redeemer Primary

“ We just decided to open the side gates on Hydes Lane and the one on New Road and parents were able to come in and pick up their kids.”

Marion Ali

I understand that some of the kids were so traumatized that they were taken away crying because of what they saw. Some of them actually witnessed the incident.

Molly Hulett

“Yes, we had kids who were going upstairs whose classrooms face the North Front Street and they were some classrooms downstairs that face that area so those students actually saw what happened.”

Marion Ali

Can you say what it does to the children? When they come back to school the next day what is their mood like? What their frame of mind is like? What they want to talk about? What they don’t want to talk about?

Molly Hulett

“Well for many kids that’s the topic. Like there is nothing else you can teach them. You just have to go through that process of healing and talking to them about it. Some of them live in areas where they experience this. But as a school now, it is happening too often around our schools now. Teachers have to deal with it. We actually have to look at the situation. We keep telling them about the plan of action that we have whenever anything happen around the school because we do have a plan. Teachers and students know that when there is an incident over on North Front Street area, we move towards the school yard on New Road.

Aside from Natasha Beaton, another passer-by, twenty four year old Luis Cacares was also grazed in the abdomen and is receiving medical treatment.  Police Press Officer, Sergeant Fitzroy Yearwood says police are serious about cracking down on the criminal element.

Marion Ali for News Five.