BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A construction foreman was earlier this afternoon (June 11) shot and robbed of an undisclosed sum of money at Port Zante.
Reports reaching SKNVibes state that Reuel Chattergoon, a Guyanese national, was shot in his left leg at about 2:30 p.m. shortly after arriving at Port Zante with a payroll, intended for his fellow employees.
On condition of anonymity, a young man, who was carrying a bag that contained the payroll, said that he, Chattergoon and a third man went to the bank to uplift the money, and on arrival at the construction site they observed two strange men in the building and decided to return to their parked vehicle and envelope the employees’ salaries.
“When we arrived at Port Zante, we parked the car and headed for a room at the construction site to pay the workers. However, as we entered the building, we saw two strangers with two employees and a former employee in there. So we decided to return to the car and envelope the money.
“While in the car, a man came to the opened window and placed a gun to my neck and snatched the bag with the money. I was scared…everything happened so fast. The foreman immediately came out of the car and ran behind the gunman to retrieve the money.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of a gun being fired, and on checking I realised that Chattergoon was shot,” the robbery victim said.
He further stated that the robber had made good his escape while Chattergoon was taken to the JNF General Hospital.
One of the employees said that shortly before the robbery, he had entered the building and was confronted by two men, one of whom was armed with a gun.
“I was on lunch break, and when I entered the building I saw a co-worker was sitting in a corner and two other men were there with him. I don’t the men, but I thought they were visiting one of the employees of the company.
“One of the two strangers came up to me, exposed a gun and told me to sit down. I complied and he said, ‘You don’t have to fraid nothing…nobody gon do you anything.’ Shortly after a former employee entered the building and the two strangers told us to go into the storeroom and remain silent. The two men took the padlock and key and closed the door, but they did not lock it. I sensed that something was amiss, knowing that Friday is payday, but I did not know they would have shot the foreman. I guess it was a setup,” the employee explained.
On arrival at the scene, members of the Strike Force were present and this media house observed one man was handcuffed and seated on the parapet opposite the construction site, while the lawmen were conducting their investigation.
It is unclear if the handcuffed man was held as a suspect and subsequently charged. However, at press time, no further information was available as efforts to contact the Police Press and Public Relations Officer were futile.
