Local businessman shot during robbery attempt in Wallilabou

A local businessman, who over the years has called for better security for yachties who use Wallilabou Bay, was on Monday evening shot in the right arm.

At around 8:20 p.m, Anthony “The Shadow” Edwards, proprietor of the Pirate’s Retreat Bar and Restaurant at Wallilabou, was at his business place when he was wounded.

Police say that Edwards was shot during a robbery attempt by two masked assailants. He was taken to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) and has since been released.

On Wednesday night, SEARCHLIGHT contacted Edwards, who over the years has been very vocal about the incidence of burglaries, robberies, wounding and in one case, murder, of tourists that use the bay.

Edwards said he is tired of the media, as the media is about sensationalism and very few media houses follow up by doing things to make our beaches and country safe for guests/tourists that we depend on.

He said he is also fed up with the police and has told lawmen as far as this incident is concerned, he is not volunteering any information, as he understands the limitations of the police.

“My interest is in our country, its betterment, not in sensationalism and I am at a point of tiredness, especially when my life is put in jeopardy,” Edwards said via telephone.

He noted that this is not the first time that he has been wounded, as three guys attacked him before. He said one of the men came at him with a speargun and was charged for multiple crimes in relation to that incident, but was not given any prison time. He said that the man was fined EC$3,000 and placed on a bond.

Edwards said in his opinion, nobody addresses the safety of Walilabou Bay and all persons are concerned about is sensationalism.

“Right now, people have declared war against me and my thing is to accept that reality and deal with it accordingly and I am not going to join in the sensationalism with anyone,” stressed Edwards.

The businessman said that he is 66 years old and a loner, with no wife or children, but he is distraught about what is taking place at Wallilabou.

He said he thinks the men who shot him were assassins and he is at war with persons for the country which he loves and is willing to protect.

Edwards has been complaining about crime in the area as far back as 2013 and in 2016, he described an area where a tourist was murdered as the “killer zone”.

In that incident, a German accountant, 49-year-old Martin Griff, was shot in his throat and died at around 2:30 a.m. on Friday, March 4, 2016, when two armed bandits climbed aboard a yacht that was docked at Wallilabou Bay. The boat’s captain, 63-year-old Reinhold Zeller was shot in his left shoulder, but survived.

Back in 2016, Edwards said at times, when yachts are anchored in the area, he would stay awake all night and act as a sort of security guard, but stressed that something better needs to be put in place to curb crime in the area.(LC)