Gunmen storm Rose Hall grocery shop, robbed family of millions

Gunmen armed with two AK-style rifles and a hand-held firearm stormed G. Sudhai and Sons Grocery Store in Rose Hall on Saturday evening, escaping with millions of dollars in cash in a brazen four-minute robbery that has left nearly a dozen persons traumatised.

At the time of the attack, the shop was busy with businessman Gurudat Sudhai, his wife and their two sons, along with three staff members and four customers, inside.

Sudhai recalled that he was seated at the cashier’s desk when the three masked men rushed in from the back of the building, weapons already drawn.

According to the businessman, the men were heavily armed, carrying what he described as two AK-style rifles and a hand-held firearm, and immediately ordered everyone to lie on the ground. He said the gunmen pressed a weapon to his head and repeatedly shouted for the cashier’s key, warning him not to move as customers and staff were forced face down on the floor.

Sudhai related that the gunmen then turned their attention to his wife, dragging her by the hair and forcing her to hand over the cashier’s key before ordering her to open the register.

“They crank the gun on us… It was too much,” he recounted, noting that the entire ordeal lasted about four minutes before the masked men fled with the cash.

The businessman said the ordeal has left his family deeply shaken, describing the attack as “very, very traumatising” and saying they now feel unprotected despite years in business. He noted that the store was active at the time, with customers inside and vehicles parked outside, making the brazen nature of the attack even more alarming.

Sudhai disclosed that this was the fourth time his business had been robbed in the past 15 years, with the last incident occurring about two years ago. He said the repeated attacks have heightened his fears and reinforced his concerns about security in the area.

“We are very, very scared,” he said, adding that the trauma of seeing his wife threatened at gunpoint remains difficult to process.

As he reflected on the ordeal, Sudhai warned that unless stronger measures are put in place, small business owners in Rose Hall will remain vulnerable to heavily armed criminals who appear to be operating without fear.

Police are reportedly on the hunt for the ‘High Powered Rifle’ crew. It is believed that they are all teenagers, with the youngest being about 15-years-old.

Only last Monday night at about 21:00h, three armed men stormed Shanie Liquor and Grocery Store in Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, where owner Shanie Ramsingh was closing up and speaking with a customer.

One of the suspects fired a shot into the air as the trio confronted those inside the shop, pointing guns at their heads before escaping with cash and a vehicle.