FIVE armed, masked youths shot a Home Safe security guard, while terrorising two others at the Berbice Educational Institute at Vryheid, New Amsterdam, at about 02:35hrs on Saturday.Compton Charles, who was in the upper flat of the two- storied L-shaped building, was shot to his left hand at close range by one of the bandits carrying a pistol. He was subsequently rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he is a patient in the Male Surgical Ward.

According to reports, it was just after 02:00hrs when a noise was heard coming from the lower flat of the building where Neville Roberts was listening to his radio while on security duty.

He was first attacked by three men who had jumped over the northern fence.

Roberts was questioned about the location of his colleagues and out of fear he divulged the information. Moments later, his hands and feet were bound and his mouth taped as he was gun-butted before being placed to lie on the ground.

While one of the bandits stood guard with his foot on Roberts’ head, the other two mounted the front stairs and barged into the room where Charles was located. He was shot but no demands were made, nor did the assailants take anything from him before walking away in the direction of the lone female guard, leaving him bleeding.

Charles believed that he was shot after his colleague had informed the bandits that he was armed with a cutlass.

The female guard Jenever Crandon said she heard the shouts for help from her colleagues and she hid in one of the open classrooms on the upper flat.

Seconds later, one of the bandits grabbed her by the hair, while brandishing a ‘Rambo’ knife.  She told them to take whatever they wanted and also pleaded that she is a mother and her sister had died recently.

“One punched me.  He was armed with a gun. He told me to co-operate. He said too that one of the guards was already dead. They ordered me down the stairs, and around the school. I was afraid. I prayed earnestly to God. I felt as though they wanted to harm me. But suddenly they left me and jumped over the eastern fence, heading into the direction of Angoy’s Avenue.”

Crandon recalled that it was after she had descended the stairs she saw the two other bandits who were acting as lookouts.

The police came in for high praise as they responded promptly to the scene after being contacted. However, the guards are pleading with the law enforcement officers to ensure that the persons arrested are those who had committed the crime.

Meanwhile, a senior teacher at the learning institution told this newspaper that following a spate of robberies at schools in the New Amsterdam district last year, a directive was given by the Ministry of Education to cease keeping money at the schools.

“So we had no money… nothing of much value. However, better needs to be done for the guards; the place is not safe; there is much bush around; these guards are not trained to carry weapons; they are paid to just watch and for a meagre sum, which are oftentimes not paid on time… lives could have been lost,” the teacher said.

The Guyana Chronicle was informed that the New Amsterdam Multilateral School and St Therese’s Primary School were also attacked by bandits during this past week.