Police yesterday arrested one of the suspects in Monday’s robbery of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) kiosk at Giftland Mall.
Commander of Region 4(A) Edgar Thomas told Stabroek News that around midday yesterday, acting on intelligence the police went to D’Urban Street, Wort-manville, Georgetown and they encountered two suspects, one of whom was armed.
“We managed to apprehend the unarmed suspect. The one with the firearm made good his escape,” Thomas said.
Both suspects were identified using surveillance footage of the robbery.
Up to yesterday afternoon, the police were still continuing their hunt for the second suspect.
Around 9.30 pm on Monday, two men, one of whom was armed with a gun, robbed the GTT kiosk at the Giftland Mall of an undisclosed sum of cash.
At the time, some customers were paying their bills.
Stabroek News was previously told that the men walked up to the cashier and one of them pointed a gun at him, while another grabbed the cash.
Surveillance footage, which surfaced minutes after the robbery, showed the men walking into the mall like regular patrons. As they approached the kiosk, one went to the right and the other went to the left before they pounced on the cashier.
The armed bandit, the video showed, later whipped out his weapon, a handgun, and was brandishing it. This cause the customers who were paying their bills to scatter. The bandits used the distraction to make good their escape.
The mall’s security guards were immediately alerted and police were called.
Police operation
At D’Urban Street yesterday, almost a dozen heavily armed police officers were present. They took up various positions as they continued to hunt for the suspect who managed to evade them.
Residents told this newspaper that the suspects were standing at the corner of D’Urban and Haley streets. They said upon noticing the police, the two ran in a bid to escape.
After one of the suspects was captured, residents said the police chased after his companion, who ran through a D’Urban Street yard which leads to Norton Street. The yard is shared by several residents.
The man who escaped was said to have been last seen in the vicinity of Le Repentir Cemetery.
As the police gave chase, they discharged several rounds. No one was injured but the shots caused damage to the properties of residents.
One bullet pierced the wall of a building, while another grazed a floorboard and another burst a pipe, causing a section of the yard to flood.
Another bullet struck the trunk of a vehicle, PYY 3513, and damaged the back seat. “Whilst giving chase the men them start to gain in front of [the police] like, so them start shooting behind them but they ain’t shoot straight. Is bare wild shots. About 20 shots fired right in the yard,” said Quincy McDowell, the owner of the damaged vehicle.
He said at the time when the shots were fired about 20 persons were present in the yard. “It coulda been fatal,” he added.
Residents said they were concerned about the manner in which the police opened fire, while noting that they were put at risk. They said it was clear that due caution was not exercised.
McDowell noted that he has since asked four officers who were present during the operation about who will fix his vehicle and no one provided him with any answers.
Firearm application denied
Meanwhile, in a statement issued yesterday, Chairman of the Giftland Group of Companies Roy Beepat said that 46 full-time security guards were present during the robbery but they were unable to respond since they were not armed.
Beepat said that in the past “repeated requests” were made to the authorities to have the Head and Deputy Head of security at the mall armed but these were denied.
“…the day shift was present but unable to respond to this due to our application for arming our Head and Deputy Head of security [being] denied by the authorities and their recommendations for supernumerary accreditation being stuck in the system for the past few years. So despite our repeated request to be able to properly protect the mall and patrons from armed attempts such as this our pleas have fallen on deaf ears,” he noted.
Beepat admitted that the robbery has highlighted the need to address “some” security concerns of the business, which he said will be dealt with to avoid future recurrences.
“The mall prides itself on its attention to the security concerns, and deeply regrets this incident, which should have been avoided. Efforts will be redoubled to ensure we maintain the high standards which we have kept since the mall has been opened,” Beepat said.
According to Beepat, the incident is the first of such nature to have occurred since the business was established four years ago.
“Our diligence, security systems, intelligence and cameras, and our close working relationship with the police has resulted in one of the culprits being arrested, this is less than 24 hours after the robbery and is a testament to the strong systems in place to deter such would-be robbers, who will think twice before trying to rob any concession at the mall again,” he added.
