Two bandits died at the Chaguanas Health Centre yesterday, moments after they were involved in a shootout with police after robbing at bar in St Helena.
However, only one of the dead men, Desmond Samuel, of Central Trinidad, had been identified up to last night.
Police said Samuel and his accomplices robbed Harry’s NYC Bar, located opposite Temple Street, Chin Chin Road, Cunupia, around 1 pm, yesterday.
According to reports, owner Harry Rambarran, 60, who had been renting the facility for the past 13 years, was approached by a man of African decent who asked for a Guinness. A relative of Rambarran, who wished not to be identified, said these trype of drinks are kept in a chiller outside of the bar, which is accessible through a metal side gate. Rambarran, however, did not open the gate but instead told the man to take the drink from the chiller. But the man then pulled a gun and announced hold up.
Rambaran reportedly ran out the back of the bar as the man proceeded to rob patrons and a Chinese national who was running a gaming operation inside the bar. The bandit then crawled through a hole in the burgular proof in front of the bar and stole around $2000 before fleeing in a white Nissan B13 motorcar.
Police were alerted and after high speed chase, they intercepted the bandits near the cemetery at Madras Road, where a shootout took place. Two of the bandits were shot during the gunfire but the other escaped. The bar was reopened for business when the T&T Guardian visited the facility around 4.30 pm. Patrons at the bar said the Chinese national fled the scene during the robbery and had not been seen since. One patron said he “know nothing about everything” and asked for a round of beers.
