“I just push a little piece through the window and I seh, If y’all only move ah gon shoot and dem run for cover”
Members of a family on the West Bank of Demerara are thankful that they are still alive despite the efforts of at least seven heavily armed gunmen to invade their home. They managed to thwart the gunmen by barricading themselves in their home. 
Reports are that, at around 19:20 hours on Friday, at least seven heavily armed men pounced on a family at Viva-La-Force.
According to Oudheia Sookdeo, because of a previous encounter with gunmen, it has become a norm for members of his family to secure themselves indoors early. 
“We were watching television and we heard the grill on the front door start rocking, so right away everybody just stay quiet because we realize that people were trying to get into the house,” Sookdeo said.
He added that, after the noise continued, he peered through a window only to see three men climbing on to the roof. According to him, all the men carried guns and some wore face masks. 

A piece of steel rod

“By that time there were at least four others surrounding the house and trying to get in, but everywhere was already locked up. After I saw the three on the roof, I went for a piece of steel rod which I keep in the house, and I just push a little piece through the window and I she, 'If y’all only move ah gon shoot,' ” Sookdeo recalled.

Sookdeo said that the men on the roof started running for cover. The man recalled that, after that episode, he heard heavy running in the yard, followed by rapid gunshots. Residents in the area said they heard about eight to 10 gunshots. However, no one was injured, even as a bullet was found in a cupboard in the family house.
The man told this newspaper that one security camera on his premises was also destroyed by one of the gunmen. The family is of the view that the men who carried out the attack are known to them, because of the mode of operation. Sookdeo’s son, Joseph Persaud, said that footage picked up by the security camera clearly suggests that.
“At one point during the attack, the footage on the camera showed one of the gunmen walking backward to the camera and just reaching his hand up and turning it in the other direction,” Persaud said.
He added that from the other images on the camera they were able to identify some of the men.  The family is, however, thankful for the quick response given by members of the Guyana Police Force.
“Ten minutes after the men left the Police arrive…if I didn’t bluff they probably woulda stick around and de Police woulda catch them,” Sookdeo opined. He said he strongly believes that the men used the Demerara River as their port of entry and exit to the area.
This is the second time in six months that the Sookdeo family has been a victim of such an attack. On the previous occasion, in November last year, heavily armed men attacked the family, relieving them of close to $5M in cash and jewellery.
A senior Police source close to the investigations has revealed that two suspects have since been arrested for the attempted robbery. 

The source said the men were arrested some time on Friday night one village away from where the incident occurred. Investigations are ongoing.

Sunday, May 25, 2008