At approximately 1:55 p.m. at the Atlantic Bank Ladyville branch, a team of armed robbers shot two security guards inside the bank during an attempted holdup.
According to police, a man entered the bank “pretending to conduct a transaction.” He was the only customer inside the very small establishment, which is about 20 feet in length.
Then, a female customer, not believed to be involved with the operation, approached the door.
The police further explained that upon the security guard turning his back to the man in order to open the door for the female customer, the assailant pounced on him from behind, trying to take away his 9mm Smith and Wesson gun, which he did after a scuffle that resulted in the glass door of the bank being extensively damaged.
At this time, another assailant with a gun ran into the bank and attacked the other security guard. According to police, the men then fired several shots in the direction of both security guards; one of the guards was shot in the back of his head, while the other was shot in the right leg.
Both security guards were rushed to the Belize Medical Associates, where they are currently in a stable condition.
Blood was splattered on the bank’s floor when we visited the scene. We were told by police that the video footage of the robbery would have to be reviewed to see whether or not the second security guard had had time to fire at the assailants.
Police Press Officer Sergeant Fitzroy Yearwood said, “From what we can see, it is a foiled bank robbery. Actually, the relieving of that firearm was to have disarmed the security, and who knows what they would have done after that, but because all this hassle began and the shots were fired; because the security never let up on them, they eventually ran out of the building.”
The assailants jumped into a vehicle that seemed to have been waiting for them, and escaped. A witness said that around the time of the incident, he saw the assailants in a haste waving at a car, after which the car approached, and they all jumped in and the vehicle sped away.
Yearwood said that the police have a 90 per cent chance of making an arrest in the robbery: “We know who we are looking for; [they] are from Belize; they are known to the police for various crimes.”
At press time tonight, confirmed information to Amandala is that the police have located the getaway vehicle, a Toyota Corolla, in the Vista Del Mar area of Ladyville.
Further information to us by police is that residents of the area saw the men escape in a boat that was waiting for them in the river.