BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – EMPLOYEES of the Texaco Gas Station at the corner of Walwyn Avenue and the island Main Road on the outskirts of Basseterre are recovering from a robbery that occurred earlier today (Apr. 23).
Reports reaching SKNVibes indicate that at approximately 11:35 a.m. while two female attendants were inside the station’s office, two masked men approached them; one of whom was armed with a gun.
The men entered the building and held the gun to the back of one of the attendant’s head as the other was about to deposit some cash into the register. The attendants were told not to move or they would be killed, and the unarmed perpetrator took the cash from the register and put it into a bag that he had in his possession.
He also took money from the attendants’ aprons and both men then fled the scene and ran down Wigley Avenue, having collected about EC$400.
Sources told this media house that the two attendants were so distraught that one of them fainted, while the other was in tears and hysterical. They were both rushed to the nearby Joseph N. France Hospital, although none of them appeared to have been physically injured from the incident.
Members of the Police Force and the Anti-Gang Unit arrived on the scene shortly after the incident occurred. At press time, the station was still closed and a source told SKNVibes that it would not reopen until tomorrow.
SKNVibes spoke to Damion Hobson, owner of the adjacent Shell Gas Station, who said he was “extremely concerned” about what the incident represented for entrepreneurs and businesses around the Federation.
Hobson explained that his staff had implemented certain safety measures and internal procedures in light of the increasing crime situation.
“Of course I am very concerned. We share the same fence. It’s not the first time Texaco has been robbed. With today’s climate, we are all very concerned. We’ve taken certain precautions, but when these men are going to come high Friday morning and rob you, it shows how brazen they’ve become.”
According to Assistant Commissioner of Police with responsibility for Crime, Joseph Liburd, three men are currently in custody assisting police with their investigations into the robbery.
