What should have been a normal winding-down of the working day at the Social Security Belize City Branch on Princess Margaret Drive was cut short by the run-and-gun tactics of two armed robbers as they made their way into the compound, and escaped with a so-far undisclosed amount of money.
As is the norm, every mid-month and end-of-month, customers clamor to get in their social security payments on time, so no one expected that these men, one dressed in “some type of mask and another in a dread cap,” would be making an appearance, sometime around 4:15 p.m. today.
Unofficial information at the scene was that two men who were loitering around the area knocked on the door of the kitchen entrance and were allowed in by the employees’ children, off from school for the day.
The two men then went to the cashiers’ window, pulled out guns and demanded money from the female cashiers. The place then erupted as customers rushed to get out of the way of the gunmen, through the front door.
The gunmen later escaped through the same kitchen entrance, located at the back of the building, through which they had entered.
One female employee said that she could only stare in horror as one of the guns was pointed in her direction. She also said that she gave no resistance to the men and gave up the cash.
She suspected that there may have been another person involved with the robbery, because, according to her, there was a strange woman asking around for the daily habits of the security officers. This woman, she suspected, was trying to do surveillance in preparation for the robbery.
Amandala was unable to get a comment from any member of the board, CEO, or the managers at the Social Security branch, nor were we able to get information on the amount of money stolen.
Another female employee felt that the section manager’s suggestion to remove arms from the security guards on the grounds was a sensible one which helped to protect the employees from harm.
According to an employee, it has become a practice at the social security office to insure all monies coming through, so that the loss can be minimized in the event of a robbery such as this one.
It seems that the gunmen were well-informed of: the access through the kitchens, the fact that there were less security guards at the back entrance, about the fact that the guards were unarmed, and that it was the first working day after mid-month, when there is maximum money in circulation.
Meanwhile, the employees at the Social Security Belize City Branch are all visibly shaken from the ordeal. It is expected that business will resume tomorrow as scheduled.