By Kisean Joseph
A cashier at a St John’s superette has been left shaken and traumatised by a brazen early morning robbery yesterday.
Dryers Enterprise in DeSouza Road was targeted by a gunman demanding cash at around 6.16am Wednesday.
The location is no stranger to misfortune as Syrian national Roudi Shmali was killed there during a daylight robbery in May 2023, when it was the Pick n Mix Mart.
Speaking to Observer about the distressing ordeal, Rose Mahoney said she felt a sense of foreboding yesterday when she saw the man enter the establishment wearing a mask and brandishing a firearm.
She said the assailant entered the building as she was attending to a customer and proceeded to demand money.
“When the incident took place … I was like, before it even happened, I saw it happen. The guy came in, and I was there with my customer. I waved my hand to him and told him that he could not come inside here with the mask,” Mahoney recalled.
“At first it looked like a shirt, but when he come close to me, then I realised it was a mask. Because I don’t allow nobody to come in the shop with a hoodie over their head, or things over their face, where I cannot see eye to eye with,” she said.
Mahoney continued, “He came around the counter and demanded money, and I just gave it to him. I just gave it to him.”
The attacker made off with over $400 – the day’s float.
“Because of the crime that is going around during Carnival and stuff, I’m not looking forward for it, but if it come, whenever they come, just give them what they want,” Mahoney advised.
She said a number of customers had been present when the incident took place.
“He was only setting his eyes on the cash register,” leaving the patrons alone, Mahoney explained.
When asked whether or not she feels fearful about returning to work, the 34-year-old replied, “I am still in shock. If tomorrow brings go to work, don’t go to work, then I will take it.
“When I close my eyes, I still feel the sound of the cranking gun, in my mind, in my throat.”
Against the backdrop of a spate of violent crime in Antigua and Barbuda, there are renewed calls for law enforcement to increase their presence through patrols and community policing.
“I would like for the police itself will make more patrols on the road because even they are not checking on store to store, but their patrol and alarm would send a signal if someone have intention to go and steal or rob someone,” Mahoney said.
“With the patrol or the alarm that they hear they will think twice because they would say, okay a somebody call them, you understand,” she added.
The assailant is described as being of slim build, approximately 5ft 6ins tall, with a dark complexion. He was wearing a white vest with long jeans, and a shirt covering his face.
Anyone who saw a man fitting this description in the area is asked to contact police at 462-3913 or CrimeStoppers anonymously at 800-TIPS (8477).
“Police are urging business owners to put tighter security measures in place to secure their cash,” a statement issued by the force yesterday said. “Business owners who need assistance can contact the police for additional advice.”
