Police and bandits in chance encounter as car makes ‘wrong turn’

CLOSE to 30 persons, including toddlers and pensioners, were forced to take cover on George and Leopold Streets on Sunday evening as armed cops went in search of gunmen who had earlier escaped during a high speed chase.

However one of the bandits was shot and was up to late last evening still under guard at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Investigators are working on the theory that the men were the same group who had been committing a series of robberies on the East Coast of Demerara but it was a mere chance encounter between them and the police on Sunday night.
The Guyana Chronicle has learned that the men may have robbed three separate places on Saturday night and one on Sunday night. And they were apparently making their way to their safe haven when they encountered the police.
But the prison unrest on Sunday night had drawn the police and army to the Werk-en Rust area as they monitored the situation at the prison. In the meantime, the bandits were ‘out the loop’ with what was occurring in that part of the city and the increased police and army presence in the particular ward.
The men who were passing through spotted a police patrol and opened fire at the ranks who returned fire and the dramatic high speed chase went through several city streets.
The men, it was reported, were of the opinion that the police were looking for them after receiving word of the earlier robbery but in fact the police presence was concentrated on the Camp Street prison. In essence the bandits brought attention to themselves.
The chase led the bandits down Benn Street with the police in hot pursuit. As the car, a dark coloured Toyota 212 approached George and Benn Streets the driver lost control while attempting to turn south into George Street and ended up slamming into a house on the corner. The impact brought down a concrete pole which was supporting a veranda.
The three bandits, according to an occupant of the home, exited the car and while two made good their escape, one of them turned around and began firing in the direction of the police with what appeared to be a high-powered weapon.
He said that at no time were the men in the house as the police thought, forcing the residents on the street.
The man said that when the men exited the car, one used Leopold Street to escape while the other only used the compound in which the house is located to make his way into another yard.
According to the young man at first he was in his section of the multi-apartment building when he heard gunshots and on looking out he saw a car coming in the direction of the house and he made a dash for cover.
This newspaper was told that the police were a bit slow, affording the other two men the opportunity to escape. However while the police thought the two men were in the house, they were hiding in a yard not far from the police.
However they remained there until the police searched the home and declared that it was safe for the occupants to re-enter.

(By Leroy Smith)