Armed bandits terrorise elderly woman, daughter during robbery – at Prospect

By Kristen Macklingam 

An elderly woman is now nursing wounds to her head and her arm after she and her daughter were attacked and terrorised in their Prospect, East Bank Demerara (EBD) home this morning by two knife-wielding and gun-toting bandits.

The 73-year-old woman sustained injuries to her head which resulted in her receiving several stitches and one of her arms is now in a cast. Meanwhile, her daughter who is in her 40s was “jabbed” to her side by one of the perpetrators who had a knife in his hand during the break-in.

INews understands that around 02:30hrs today two young men who appeared to be in their late teens removed the louvre windows in the downstairs apartment of the two storeyed house to gain entrance into the home where the two females live alone.

According to a relative of the two women, the culprits had walked with a tool-kit set which they used to remove the bolts and grillwork around the windows.

Also, to prevent being seen while they were committing the act the duo used hammocks and pieces of cloth to hang on the “clothes lines” which surround the house to block the view from outsiders.

The relative stated that it was the noise which sounded like footsteps which had awaken the two women, and the elderly woman’s daughter ventured out of their bedroom to determine what was happening.

When she stepped out of the bedroom she noticed that all of the lights in the house were turned off, and this alerted the woman that something was amiss since the lights would usually be left on.

Upon going into the downstairs apartment she was grabbed from behind by one of the two men who threw her to the floor. She fought back and began screaming to alert her mother and others of what was happening.

However, the bandit used his knife to “jab” her in the side, then pulled out a gun and pointed it in her direction stating that if she made any more noise he would shoot her in the mouth.

She then called out for her mother who opened the bedroom door to find out what was happening but the 73-year old was then “shoved” to her bed, the relative explained.

INews was told that it was then the woman’s head impacted with the wooden part of the bed and her head was burst causing her to lose blood quickly. She also fractured her right arm trying to shield herself from the impact of a blow that the bandit was about to deal to her face.

During this ordeal the bandits demanded that the women hand over their “gold and money” as one of them snatched a small gold band that the elderly woman was wearing at the time of the robbery and assault.

They also managed to steal Gy$50,000 which was the money the woman had to pay their bills today. While the two perpetrators were making their escape, the neighbours were alerted by the commotion as well as the screams by one of the women and they rushed out.

However, the bandits made good their escape by scaling the fence and took off on a bicycle before the two injured women could get help from their neighbours. According to the women’s relative, in the desperate attempt to escape before being caught, the two young men left their satchel (bag) with their tools behind as well as dropped one of the knives they were carrying.

The women stated that the two bandits were wearing what appeared to be stockings over their faces so as to hide their identities. The victims are of the view that the perpetrators are persons who know them since they seem to be very familiar with the layout of the house, in both the upper and lower apartments.

INews was told that police ranks arrived promptly at the scene and have already taken fingerprints from the knife and other parts of the house to help them in the case. Investigations are on-going.