Armed robbery of teacher in front of preschool students
Robberies are becoming more frequent and brazen by the day and everyone is under threat. This morning, a preschool was attacked leaving a classroom of four year old children traumatized. Just after nine, the preschool located at the corner of Louise Bevans Street and Jane Usher Boulevard was targeted by armed robbers. Ten students of the Little Cadets Academy Preschool and their teacher were about to start classes when two men—one posing as a relative to one of the children and the other wearing a mask over his face and armed—walked into the classroom and held the teacher at gunpoint in front of the toddlers. The men demanded money from the teacher, Stephanie Canto, but all they could find was five dollars in cash. The robbers also stole her jewelry and phone before fleeing the school compound. Canto was too shaken to appear on camera, but she told News Five she believes the preschool was monitored.
Voice of: Stephanie Canto, Teacher, Little Cadets Academy Preschool
“For some reason this morning; because usually as nine o’clock, I would go out there and I would lock that gate and for some reason I didn’t reach out there as early as I was supposed to. And right after that it happened. A man came in, a dark man and he pointed at one of the children and said he wanted to see that child. I didn’t know what to say because he came in very suspicious. So the other guy came in right after with his face tied up and he cranked the gun in front of the babies, held it to my head and told me he wants everything. And the dark skin guy that came in first, he came and helped him to take off my chain, my rings, my watch; they took my phone, my I-phone and after that. During this time, they were shouting at each other saying hurry, hurry, hurry. The other guy said where is the money, so I told them my bag is on the chair. They took my bag, they were searching and the other guy was saying hurry, hurry. He couldn’t find anything and so he threw the bag on me and lucky thing I didn’t have any money on me—I think I only had five dollars in my wallet. They took that and I was showing them that nothing else was in there. And the other dark guy, he was demanding that he wanted money, but the other guy with the gun, he told the other guy that’s all she has let’s go; hurry up. And that’s when left. It was pointed hard on me. I was terrified.”
Duane Moody
“What about the kids? I understand that they are all four year olds.”
Voice of: Stephanie Canto
“They are traumatized. I can’t explain to you how I feel for them. They were traumatized; they cried.”
Duane Moody
“I know you guys have been here for the past five years and nothing like this ever happened…”
Voice of: Stephanie Canto
“Nothing like this every happen to me personally; much less the school and to see babies… These guys don’t have any… I don’t know what to say anymore. Now I know how it feels. I always watch the news and I see people; they go through these kinda things and now I know how it feels.”
Duane Moody
“Any possibilities of maybe getting a security guard or something like that?”
Voice of: Stephanie Canto
“We are definitely looking into that because it is not only my life, it is the babies lives that are being put into danger. I don’t care so much about me; it’s about them.”
One of the robbers, it is believed, resides in the area. Little Cadets Academy Preschool opened its doors five years ago.
My son is 4 years old. If someone robbed his teacher in front of him, I would want to personally hunt down the robber and exterminate him in vengeance for the trauma my son would have suffered.
Whoever these depraved robbers are, I favor lynching them before the police can save them from the vengeance of the community. This robbery goes far over the line. No quarter.
People people their is no leadership in the country this is what I have been saying now even your children are at risk of getting shot wake up people wake up we need to march to the pm house and demand he resign because he is incompetent and impotent on crime we need to bring back the hanging penalty now today resign judas barrow resign before your children are killed you need to march people enough is enough and while your children are being assaulted the pm is away again giving speeches march belizeans march.
Further evidence of Belize being a pariah state.
where’s the minister of national security to face Belizean people to stop the atrocities that now even our pre-schoolers are facing with crime, holy monkeys really where in a state of failure. no gov. personnel seems to have the balls to talk about curbing the crime wave.
Belizean Pride, you’re 100% right.
Even our children are suffering the crime wave we have in our country, I have a 4yr old and believe me if this would ever happen at the preschool I will have no mercy on those Lazy ……….. Instead they work!!! this is what they end up doing hurting people. MAY GOD BE WITH THIS TEACHER AS SHE CONTINUES HER WORK, AS APROFESSIONAL TEACHER. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!! BUT THOSE LAW ENFORCEMENT SHAME ON U beggining with THE PM.
WHAT A SHAME FOR THE PM AND HIS MINISTRIES.
I live in AMERICA and people are always asking me and telling me that they hear that i am from a beautiful Country,how do i tell them that my Country is still in the dark and evil ages.