BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LIONEL ‘KEN’ ROGERS, the proprietor of a shop in Half Way Tree who was robbed at gunpoint on Tuesday (Sept. 24), speaks about his experience during the robbery.
Yesterday afternoon (Sept. 25), SKNVibes visited Rogers and was told what transpired on that eventful morning.
“At approximately 9:25 on Tuesday morning I was in my shop when two men walked in. One was wearing a hoodie that partly covered his face and the other one was wearing a mask and he was carrying a gun.
“The one with the hoodie said, ‘Gimme all that yo got.’ I thought it was a joke being played on me, so I hesitated and took a few steps away from the counter. This seemed to have annoyed the one with the mask, so he pointed the gun at me and demanded that I give them my hard-earned cash.
“Fear gripped me and I gave them all the money I had from the sales for that morning because I thought that money could always be replaced…but not life.”
Rogers said that the ordeal lasted for about eight to 10 minutes.
He also said that after leaving his premises, the two robbers ran through a neighbouring yard and made their way along a road that leads to the railway line.
“After they left, I was still shaken by the incident and I immediately called the police at Sandy Point and reported the matter. Surprisingly, it took the police over 45 minutes to get to my shop, and they did not come from Sandy Point.
“When they entered my shop, I spoke to a policewoman and enquired why it took them so long to respond. She told me that Sandy Point Police Station did not have a vehicle and that was the reason for the delay.”
Rogers is of the view that if the police at Sandy Point had responded immediately they would have caught the robbers, because he was reliably informed that they spent some time by the railway line.
When contacted this morning, Police PRO Inspector Lyndon David said that the matter is being investigated and the police are asking anyone who may have information as to who the robbers are to “call the Sandy Point Police Station at 465-6261, the Violent Crime Unit (VCU) at 465-2241 ext. 230 or Crime Stoppers at 1800-8477 (TIPS)’.
He reminded that the person(s) with the information do not have to give their name, address or telephone number and they might be eligible for a reward.
SKNVibes was reliably informed that at the time of the robbery and days prior to that, Sandy Point Police Station was without transportation. However, this morning it was observed that the bus which is normally used to transport the officers is back in working condition after being down for some time.
