Victim in foiled Aranguez robbery: Kill dem!

Fed up with the state of crime and the number of robberies in their community, Aranguez residents and businessowners are praising the police for foiling a robbery and killing one of the suspects on Monday.

Footage from the robbery shows a man parking a Blue Waters truck on the Aranguez Main Road near Mangra Trace at around 1.30 pm on November 18 when a silver Nissan Wingroad pulled up behind the truck.

Two men got out of the car, accosted the driver and hauled him out of the truck’s cab while they robbed him.

Eyewitnesses said an off-duty police officer who was driving past saw what was happening and intervened, shooting at the men.

The Wingroad drove off with the suspected bandits running behind it as the off-duty officer continued shooting at them.

In the video, which was shared on social media, the truck driver was heard shouting, “Kill dem!”

Police, who had already been contacted, intercepted the suspects' car less than a minute after the robbery.

The suspects crashed into a culvert before hitting the front of a building on Rambhaju Trace, two streets away from the robbery.

One of the suspects was shot dead during a confrontation with the police while another initially escaped but was later found as police continued their investigation.

The dead man remained unidentified up until press time.

A third man who was shot during the confrontation was taken to the hospital and remains under police guard.

Several residents expressed their frustration over the level of crime they have been witnessing in the community and told Newsday they had “no problem” with police killing the suspected bandit.

One man praised the police saying, “They did their good deed for the day. Well done to them!”

A passer-by who saw the group of journalists, photographers and police asked what had happened.

When told about the incident, he replied, “Good! Let them kill the one who in the hospital too!”

A man who lives nearby and was held up from getting to his home because of the traffic said he did not mind waiting when he found out what was causing the traffic.

He said people are fed up and the police have his full support.

“If that’s what police have to do to bring back law and order, then so be it, because them bandits ent fraid police any more.

“The bandits and dem out here distressing people and shooting at (the police), so police have to do what they have to do!”

The man said residents are “hugely appreciative” of how the police dealt with the situation and the speed with which they reacted.

“We are always vigilant because of the number of strange cars in the area coming and going to the hotel down the street, so it was comforting to see the police respond so quickly.”

Blue Waters: Affected employees coping well

Blue Waters CEO Pradeep Subrian also praised the police.

“We have great appreciation for the police and their timeliness and how they responded. We also appreciate the accuracy of their investigation because they got all the suspects.”

He praised the employees for keeping cool and quickly notifying the police.

Subrian said they are doing well and the company is supporting them.

“They were thrilled the police responded so quickly and that there were no casualties. They are coping well and we told them to take time off and whatever we could do as a company to support them, we will do.”

He said he was surprised by the incident as there are seldom any large amounts of cash on their trucks.

“This is the first time we have ever had a robbery in the last 17 years.”

Subrian did not reveal specific security arrangements but said the company has adopted a proactive approach to minimise the possibility of their trucks and drivers being targeted.

“We have security awareness training for our guys where they are taught what to look out for and to be aware of their surroundings. We remind them to change their route regularly and all the basic things they should know.”

Police: Quick response is proof measures are working

DCP Junior Benjamin said he appreciated the confidence expressed in the police service.

“This was a collaborative effort with the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and the DCP Operations task force. So we want to thank all those who were responsible for ensuring we were able to quell the situation.

“The synergy within the TTPS is what is needed to fight crime and it’s all hands on deck and everyone is contributing to the crime reduction strategy and anti-crime plans we have for TT.

“Right through this is the effort (officers give).

“Officers are putting their lives on the line and we will continue to do that because we have made an oath to protect and serve without fear or favour, malice or ill will. So we will continue to do that.”

He suggested the timely response by officers was proof that the various policing measures being implemented across TT are bearing fruit.

“The police are upping the patrols in the area and ever so often, we have officers doing different mobile and foot patrols, and also what we call quasi patrols.

“We recognise that when these things come up, especially in the hotspot areas, they're able to respond quickly.”

He added police are never happy to engage in a gunfight with criminals and called on people to convert their support into actionable intelligence so criminals can be brought to justice.

He said this would help increase the response time as well.

“We want to ask the public to continue to support us and if you see something say something.

“The faster we get the information, we are able in real time to dispatch that information to officers that are on patrol and, therefore, there's a quicker response.

“We're really working on really increasing the response time so that we can catch perpetrators in the act and be able to at least bring them before a competent court of justice for the actions that they seek to perpetrate on innocent victims.”

Businessowners: We are sitting ducks, give us guns

Newsday spoke with several businessmen in the area who, while praising the police, called on the government and Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher to make it easier for them to get firearm user licences (FUL).

A businessman said the authorities needed to “go full steam ahead” with issuing FULs.

A shop owner said, “We are sitting ducks. We should be allowed to have our legal firearms so that we could defend ourselves because it’s only so much the police could do. (The police) can’t be everywhere.”

Another store owner said he was concerned not only for his business but also for his family as he lives above his business.

“Nothing you can do can stop a bandit. If they want to rob you, they not going to let some burglar proofing stop them, so we need to have something of our own to stop them.”

Several businessmen said although they have implemented their own security measures, including cameras and door buzzers, they still feel it is not enough.

A foreign national running a business near where the robbery took place told Newsday he believes the time has come for the tenants on the compound to have a serious conversation with the landlord.

“We need to do something about this. The tenants spoke and we have decided we need to get an armed security guard to protect us.”

He said at least one business on the compound was robbed since he has been there and coupled with the crime in the area, the other businessowners are uneasy.

“We are pleased with the police presence (in the area). It is okay. But we are also speaking with the community council about what more can be done to keep the area safe.”