Newspaper vendor battles masked gunman

Maybe it was adrenaline, or the bucket of money with her day’s takings that she had in her hand, or perhaps the need to send a message to would be robbers that caused Alma Ferdinand, a 52-year-old Searchlight newspaper vendor, to put her life on the line and fight back when two masked men approached her, one with a gun.{{more}}

Ferdinand, who also operates a shop at her home at Ottley Hall, otherwise known as Bagdhad, fought back in a situation where most persons would have surrendered.

Her ordeal took place last Monday, January 7th, after she had just finished closing up her shop at around 9 p.m.

“When I reach the house I always peep behind with all the lights on. When I peep, I see a mask man stooping and another one behind him.”

“I run back to the gate but the gate been lock, so I start to bawl foh murder and call for Ato, the other shopkeeper next to me that was still open.”

Ferdinand said that as she screamed for help, one of the would be robbers ran towards her, firing two shots from the gun in the air, while the other remained behind the house.

“He run down behind me and try to grab the bucket. He chuck me and I box him and say to him “Put down the gun leh we fight, without that gun you will lose.”

As she wrestled with the gunman, he attempted to shoot Ferdinand in the foot but missed.

“That’s when the other one behind the house say ‘Man leave she, don’t kill she,’ then they run off at the back of the house,” Ferdinand related.

At this point Ato and another neighbour climbed over the locked gate and came to her assistance, and called the police.

During the struggle with the gunman, Ferdinand suffered a cut to her left leg, for which she received six stitches.

Ferdinand told Searchlight that she is still in shock after the ordeal, but after sitting down and reflecting, she thinks she did the right thing.

“I get robbed five times before and I never fight back. This time I had enough.”

Ferdinand has lived alone since her husband died in 1999 and has indicated that she is even considering getting herself a licensed firearm to protect her business and property.

She believes that there may be more robbery attempts in the future, but indicated that she would not be keeping that much money around any time soon.