TWO unarmed guards fled the scene on Tuesday night after dialling the police emergency 911 number to report a burglary at Richard Ishmael Secondary School, on Woolford Avenue, in Georgetown. The Headteacher, Ms. Chandroutie Persaud told the Guyana Chronicle, yesterday, that, when she arrived about 08:00 hrs, she was informed that the building had been broken into and burglarised.
She said her office and the adjoining one occupied by her secretary were ransacked and articles were strewn everywhere in the rooms.
Persaud said the school’s DVD player, laptop computer, the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and keyboard, as well as several trophies were among the things stolen after forced entry was gained by removing a window on the lower flat of the two-storey building.
She said the burglars had ample time to search through all the cupboards and  drawers in her office and take whatever they wanted, leaving all the other items scattered on the floor.
Persaud said the guards, from Crime Buster Security Service, left hurriedly after seeing several intruders in the compound. After telephoning, they also went to Police Headquarters, Eve Leary, in the city, too, to report but, by the time ranks responded, the burglars had already made good their escape.
The headteacher noted that the bandits failed in their attempt to get into a storeroom next to her office and she was grateful they did not, since the school’s sports gears and other valuables, including agricultural equipment, are kept there.
She said that was the first burglary at the school and security will be boosted to make the place more secure by installing grill work.
Students were unaware of the incident when they showed up for classes yesterday but they had a double session as a result of a Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) meeting.
The police revisited the premises and advised the teachers not to touch certain things during the ongoing investigations, among them some taken from students.