Woman refused to hand over cash to masked gunman

Even in the face of imminent danger, 83-year-old Sylvia Ferdinand said she showed no sign of giving in to the masked, armed man who entered her business place at Lower Kingstown Park on Saturday.{{more}

A man entered her shop shortly after 4 p.m., wearing a green bandanna and a hat, Ferdinand, commonly known as “Ms Ferdie”, said.

“He came in asking for money, so I keep asking him ‘Which money? Which money?’” she told SEARCHLIGHT.

“… I ain’t bother with him and after I wouldn’t bother with him, he pitch over a bag and tell me put the money in the bag,” Ferdinand recalled.

She further explained that the masked man lifted an envelope and revealed what Ferdinand said looked like a small gun.

“He kept waiting and waiting — I wouldn’t bother with him — he stand up there,” said Ferdinand, mother of Dr Julian “Jules” Ferdinand, who was recently elected the opposition New Democratic Party’s candidate for West St George.

She said that there were two men in the shop at the time, and one of them ran outside and told someone to call the police.

“Well, is after the guy say call the police, I don’t know if is run he (masked man) run, but when I looked he was gone,” she said, adding that the armed man fled the shop but did not get anything.

Ferdinand, who has been operating her business since 1958, said that she has never experienced an attempted armed robbery before.

“They call for things and run out” or they would break in at night, she said.

She said that she has not had the time to fully reflect on what took place, adding that it all happened very quickly.

Within recent times, there have been a series of burglaries targeting various business houses and prominent business operators in the country.

More specifically, business houses in the Lower Kingstown Park area have been the target within recent times.

Back in February, an employee of Veira’s Agencies and Courtesy Sports was relieved of a bag containing $15,000, in a daring daylight robbery in Lower Kingstown Park. They would again break into the compound between October 24 and 25, this time taking a quantity of soft drinks and soap powder.

Robbers again attacked in the same area, this time targeting the office of SEARCHLIGHT on October 10, when two men entered the premises of the newspaper and made off with the day’s earnings.

On November 2, two masked gunmen robbed businessman Bradley Medica at his Golden Vale home. (DD)