A US-based Guyanese nurse has been robbed at gunpoint of cash and jewellery just one day after she returned to Guyana.
The incident occurred on Friday evening at Edinburgh, East Bank Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) at about 21:00hrs.
The victim has been identified as Paulette Holder, a 58-year-old professional nurse of Lot 34 Enduburg Village Public Road.
According to the reports, the act was committed by two males dressed in dark-coloured clothing; with one of them being masked and armed with a suspected handgun while the other was armed with a knife.
Holder was in her bedroom when she was pounced upon by the masked suspect, who pointed the suspected firearm to her head and demanded cash. She handed over her purse which contained $275,000 Guyana currency.
The men reportedly escaped on foot.
Holder, who resides in New Jersey, told this publication that she comes home annually to hold a Thanksgiving service and arrived in Guyana on Thursday morning for the activity, which was scheduled for Sunday.
The woman related that she was preparing to go out with two of her old nurse friends and two of her nieces were in one of the bedrooms packing goodies into bags which she had planned to give out to the children she had invited to the Thanksgiving service when she was confronted by a man in her bedroom.
‘I couldn’t recognize him because he had a ski mask, he had a gun in his hand and immediately he took it and put it right my forehead and pushed me right back into the room and said give me all the f—-ing money that you come with.”
Holder said she had $275,000 in her room at the time which was mostly to shop the following day for the Sunday’s event.
“I was going out and did not put on my earring as yet, he grabbed that and the money I had there on the vanity, then he continued to push me with the gun and said ‘That’s not all, where is the US currency’, but at that time in the room I had no US currency in that room,” she explained.
Holder further related that the intruder also took a gold chain from her.
She said as the bandit was fleeing he came into contact with her two nieces who came out of the room they were in after she responded to the uninvited visitor in a loud tone.
“I said, ‘Oh My God, I am going to give you all of the money’, because I just wanted to alert them that somebody was in the room with me. That is when they came out of the room. I did not know that there was a second person in the house, he was right in front of the middle room and that time they [nieces] came face to face with him.”
She said her nieces said the man they confronted was unarmed.
“But this one was persistent because he wanted the US currency from me.”
However, the masked bandit was also confronted by the two nieces and one of them had a scuffle with him… My niece, she recognised him immediately even though he had on the ski mask. She called his name, ‘Simon’. Three times she called his name. She knew him because he always passes and he would say, ‘Hi Aunty Sharron’.”
She said in all it is in excess of $400,000 in cash and jewellery the bandits left with.
The men reportedly gained entry to the building through the back door which was open at the time.
The woman said while the robbery was taking place one of her friends was outside of the house waiting on her for a night out.
The police were informed and shortly after visited a house at Edinburgh Village. Holder said the police subsequently returned with a ski mask and asked her if it was the same one being worn by the intruder.
“I said, ‘Exactly, this is what the individual had on’.”
Meanwhile, police are on the hunt for the two men.
The main suspect is also being sought in relation to other similar incidents.
