Two charged for Campden Park attacks

Two suspects are now in custody and a security guard hospitalized, after two armed robberies at the Campden Park Industrial Estate early Tuesday morning.

Gunmen are said to have infiltrated the compound of East Caribbean Metal/Plastics Industries Ltd (ECMIL) at about 2 o’clock Tuesday morning, shooting Eugene Gordon, the 49-year-old security guard and making off with her cellular phone.

The two robbers are also said to have entered the compound of the nearby East Caribbean Bottling Inc (ECBI), stealing two cases of the energy drink ‘Village Ram’ and the watchman’s cellular phone.{{more}}

Gordon, who is an employee of security firm Guardsman (SVG) Ltd, was shot in the stomach.

She underwent surgery at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) on Tuesday and up to press time, remained a patient there.

An employee of ECMIL who is also familiar with the Campden Park area said that the police officers who responded to the reports of the robberies encountered two suspects while the lawmen were making their way towards Lowmans Bay, on the suspicion that the robbers may have fled in that direction.

According to a source, the police and the suspects exchanged shots in an area known as Old Buff at Campden Park, and after taking control of the situation, police found one of the suspects hiding under a car with a case of Village Ram and the cell phone belonging to the watchman at ECBI in his possession.

The source said police officers also retrieved Gordon’s phone from the pocket of the second suspect, after he was found hiding in a gutter a short distance from where the first suspect was apprehended.

The two suspects are said to be in their early 20s and 30s respectively.

According to an ECMIL employee who spoke to SEARCHLIGHT, the possibility exists that there may have been three men involved in the robbery, as police found a second case of Village Ram a short distance from where the two suspects were apprehended and it was not possible for the two suspects to have travelled that distance before they were apprehended.

Members of the ECMIL staff also told reporters that a few weeks prior to Tuesday’s incident, a watchman at the company was held at gunpoint and taken to the guard booth where Gordon was stationed. They say Gordon rang a bell that alerted the workers on the compound, causing the gunmen to flee; however, they promised that they would return.

According to one employee, that earlier matter was reported to the police, but no officer came at that time.

A senior official at ECMIL told reporters on Wednesday that in light of Tuesday’s incident, the company intends to introduce armed guards on the compound, install razor wires at the front of the building, raise the walls, improve the lighting around the building and obtain new cameras that would be more effective at night.

According to the senior official, businesses in the area have become a target and are calling for more police presence in the area.

When contacted, Guardsman general manager Peter VanWhervin declined to comment about the shooting, but said he leaves everything in the capable hands of the police and commended the police officers on their quick response to the incident.

Up to press time, no one was charged in relation to the shooting, however, police are questioning the two men. (AS)