AN armed bandit was shot dead in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday during a confrontation with a businessman in suburban Bel Air.
Fortunately for the businessman, he was not injured in the shootout, but a friend of his, the driver of the vehicle in which he was travelling, was and is currently hospitalised at a private institution.
The fallen bandit, who is yet to be identified, was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
According to reports, the businessman had just seen one of two friends home in Belvoir Court after a night out at the movies when the incident occurred.
It happened around 00:30hrs as the friend was about to secure the gate to his premises, where he was accosted by two men, one of whom brandished a firearm and ordered him to ‘Freeze!’
The driver, sensing that something was amiss, decided to reverse the vehicle to check on his friend, and came under a hail of bullets as the armed bandit opened fire. In the fusillade, the front windscreen of the vehicle was shattered and the driver was hit on his arm.
The businessman, who was seated in the rear of the vehicle, immediately drew his licensed .32 Taurus pistol and returned fire, hitting the bandit squarely in the chest. His accomplice, not wanting to wait around, took to his heels, leaving his fallen accomplice behind.
The police were subsequently informed of the shooting, and upon arriving at the scene, found a .32 pistol believed to have belonged to the deceased suspect.
They also found seven .32 calibre spent shells and a cellular phone.
The police are reportedly reviewing footage from several CCTV surveillance cameras in the neighbourhood to build their case.
The body of the slain bandit, meanwhile, is currently at the Lyken Funeral Home awaiting identification. A post-mortem is expected to be done today.