He and his accomplice also robbed 2 customers, but escaped without the store’s money

A pair of bold thieves used the rainy weather conditions yesterday as an opportunity to attempt a partly foiled robbery at a popular fruit and vegetable shop on West Canal in downtown Belize City, shooting the cashier in the process.

During the frightening ordeal, two customers who were making purchases at the time were stripped of their belongings, while the store’s cashier was later shot before the bandits scurried off without getting their hands on the loot inside the cash pan, which they were after.

Police reports are that Salvadoran national Fatima Figueroa, 23, was on cashier duty at the Public’s Fruit and Vegetable Shop at about 10:45 yesterday morning, Sunday, when two dark-complexioned assailants entered the premises and one of the men pointed a firearm at Figueroa and demanded that she open the cash register.

When Figueroa refused to open the register, the gunman fired at her twice, the bullets hitting the woman in the left side of the abdomen.

Today, Amandala visited the establishment and we managed to speak with two of the employees, who gave us an account of what transpired, but for their safety, we withhold their identities.

The employees told us that it had just finished raining, and they were both in the back of the shop stocking vegetables when the men ran in, pulled out the firearm, and told everybody to get on the ground.

Realizing that it was a robbery in progress, everyone in the store, including two customers, complied, after which one of the robbers went back to the entrance of the store and stood watch, while the other proceeded to hold up the two patrons at gunpoint, the employees said.

One of those customers, described as a 38-year old teacher, was robbed of a beige purse containing $400 in cash, a blue Alcatel Digicell touch screen phone valued at $225, two bunches of house keys, her vehicle key, and two Belize passports belonging to the teacher and her son.

It is not known what was taken from the other customer.

The employees, who by then had grown petrified by the circumstances, mentioned that they cowered as the determined robber then turned on the cashier, Figueroa, demanding that she open the cash drawer.

The frightened cashier apparently froze upon seeing the gun, and then attempted to move away from the cubicle, but was shot in the abdomen.

At that time, the employees said, the crooks who apparently panicked because of the commotion, scampered off without getting anything from the cash pan, and escaped on bicycles in the direction of West Canal.

Figueroa – whose family declined comment when we visited her home – was admitted to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in a stable condition, but was released earlier today.

According to Officer in Charge of Belize City Police Precinct 1, Superintendent Alden Dawson, two persons are presently in police custody in connection with the incident, while police are seeking two more individuals for questioning.

One Auto GFL .380 expended shell and a slug were retrieved from the scene, and investigators seem to be making inroads in their investigation, since Dawson also stated that police have recovered a black .380 firearm with a magazine containing (4) live .380 rounds of ammunition, which they believe may have been used in the robbery/attempted murder case.

Dawson told us that quick police response led to the recovery of the firearm and ammunition, as well as the beige purse, the set of house keys, vehicle keys and the two Belize passports, which were all stolen from the 38-year-old customer.

The items were found at a home on West Street, and police reported that a 53-year-old woman who reportedly lives at the address has also been detained pending investigation; however, Dawson would not reveal the identities of the persons who are in police custody.

We also understand that the incident was caught on camera, but Dawson did not state whether the video footage is being used as part of the police’s investigations.

He only conceded that police officers have recorded some statements from eyewitnesses, and that the investigation is currently ongoing.