Daring hotel robbery and kidnapping

A criminal who held workers at gunpoint while robbing Carlisle Bay hotel on Saturday, continued to evade the police up to last night.
His victims – including one worker who was attacked on site and another who was kidnapped as the perpetrator carjacked a vehicle to escape – remained traumatised up to yesterday even after receiving medical treatment.
According to official police information, the robbery was executed by a lone gunman at about 1 p.m. and soon after grabbing “thousands of dollars” and confronting an employee, the man jumped into another employee’s vehicle and drove off.
At the time, another female employee was in the vehicle. The police did not state whether the woman was forced to be the driver or if the robber was the one who took the wheel of the silver grey Honda CRV, A9238.
The police and a relative of the woman said she was released in the Fig Tree Drive area not long after the incident.
She was physically unhurt but was taken to the hospital. A relative who did not want to be named said “it could have been worse” and added that she’s grateful no one was injured during the ordeal.
The other employee who came face to face with the armed man at the hotel, was also taken to the hospital. Some time later, the vehicle was found in the Sawcolts area, leading to Bendals. A police source said the vehicle was still intact.
After the robbery was reported, the police quickly organised tactical teams from the Rapid Response Unit, the Special Services Unit, K-9 dogs and other personnel to try to catch the assailant.
Alerts were sent to the media for dissemination to the public, but the initial information from witnesses to the police regarding the registration plate on the vehicle was inaccurate, thus residents were looking for another vehicle.
This was however quickly corrected when a relative of the owner of the vehicle posted a photograph of it on Facebook, giving residents a clearer picture that it was closer to grey than silver in colour and it showed the correct registration number.
When contacted on Saturday, the hotel’s management said it could not comment on the matter. Police Commissioner (ag) Atlee Rodney did not respond to queries about an update on the matter yesterday and attorney general Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin said lawmen have been reviewing video footage and gathering other evidence to try to track down the criminal.
On Saturday, the police appealed to the public to call 911 or contact the nearest police station or the Johnson’s Point Police Station at 562-8942/3 or the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at 462-3913/4 to help solve the case.