BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A young hairdresser in Cayon claims to have been saved by God during her ordeal with a gun-toting bandit who wanted to rob her on Friday, November 4, 2011.
In an exclusive interview with the proprietrix of CJ, Beauty World, situated at Hamilton Street in Lower Cayon, she told SKNVibes that the incident has left her traumatised and she still suffers from constant headaches and pain in her neck.
Recounting the frightful event of that day, the proprietrix said that at approximately 11:00 a.m. she had left her home to clean the salon in preparation for an expected busy weekend.
“I was in and out of the salon because I had to sweep the front as well. At about 1:05 p.m., I went back inside to get the garbage to take it outside when I saw a young man, no more than 20 years old, came into the salon.
“From the time he entered the salon I maintained eye contact with him. He was wearing a black T-shirt, a three-quarter jean pants and a dark shades. He came straight up to me and said, ‘Guh down on de ground’. He then lifted his shirt and took out a gun from his waist…it looked like a 9mm pistol. I told him that I don’t have any money and he again said, ‘Guh down on de ground.’ I knelt on the ground and he said, ‘Where is de money?’ I quickly replied saying, ‘Sir I don’t have any money. I am up here cleaning all morning and I don’t have any money.’
The mother of two noted that the bandit got closer to her and placed the gun to her forehead.
“I was scared, and in order not to see what he wanted to do with the gun, I bent my head further to the ground. He then hit me behind my head with it, which unto today causes me pains in my head and neck. I also observed that his left hand was bandaged but not in a professional manner, and it seemed to me as if he was concealing something on it…maybe a tattoo.”
The proprietrix is of the view that because of her religious persuasions and prayers, an apparition of the Holy Spirit might have saved her from harm.
“Being a born-again Christian, after he struck me behind my head I started praying as fear overwhelmed me. I said, ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…the blood, the blood, the blood.’ I kept repeating it all the time while on the ground, and when I looked up at the young man, who at that time had used a scarf that was around his neck to conceal parts of his face, I saw him looking over me towards the wall at the back of the salon.
“I don’t know what he saw behind there, but over the past few weeks I have been smelling roses in the salon. And in church they say when you smell those things it signifies the presence of angels around you. And I know that it was God’s doings why I am here today, because when I looked up at him I saw that his eyes were bulging with fear and like a scared dog he ran out of the salon.”
She explained that on reaching the roadway, the bandit stopped running and removed the scarf from his face and slowly walked along Hamilton Street in a northern direction, where he met with a male accomplice dressed in similar clothing.
“I immediately called the Police Station and made a report of the incident and was taken to Molineux Hospital, where they gave me an injection to calm me down because my heart was racing too fast. I guess it was because of fear,” the proprietrix said.
She told this publication that she had never before seen the young man and strongly believes that he does not reside in Cayon.
She also said that when residents in the area heard of her harrowing experience, a few of them said they had seen when two young men fitting the description she gave to the police exited a passenger bus that came from Basseterre.
When contacted, an officer at the Cayon Police Station confirmed that the proprietrix had reported the incident and investigations are ongoing.
