Bandit killed in failed robbery

Police were last night at the scene of a failed robbery at a grocery in Barataria where one suspect was shot dead by the proprietor while two other bandits who are believed to be wounded, managed to flee the scene.

According to reports, at 9 pm, three men entered Young’s Grocery situated along Tenth Avenue and ordered everyone to lie on the floor. The proprietor who owns a licensed firearm, drew his weapon from his holster and opened fire. The bandits returned fire and one of them slumped to the floor inside the grocery while the other two fled.

During the shoot-out, two employees in the grocery were shot. A report was made to the Barataria police and officers took the wounded grocery employees to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope where up to press time they were receiving emergency treatment. Police sources said that blood stains outside the grocery suggested that the two bandits who escaped, may have been injured.

Up to press time, police had cordoned off the area in and around the grocery and were searching door to door for the suspects. The presence of a large number of police officers at the Hospital led many to believe that WPC Roxanne Sealy, who was shot at the San Juan police station earlier this week had either taken a turn for the worse or died.

But senior police sources said that the officer remains warded in a stable condition and is showing signs of improvement. The body of the unidentified bandit was removed to the Forensic Science Centre in St James for autopsy. This is the fifth criminal suspect to be shot dead by police during this past week.