A 70 year old woman has relived the moment a callous gunman robbed her family store – firing his weapon wildly in the air as he did so.

Eunice Seymour has worked behind the counter at Uncle Clem’s Meat and Grocery store in George Town for more than 30 years.

But on Saturday night her world fell apart when a lone gunman robbed her store after blasting a hole in the ceiling.

In a separate incident less than 24 hours later, thieves also targeted another shop in the same street.

Her granddaughter was in the shop on Mary Street with her when the thieves struck just before 9pm.

Yesterday Mrs Seymour relived the terrifying moment the thief struck – and said it felt like she was in a Hollywood movie.

And she said her body shakes when she hears the slightest noise that reminds her of the unmistakable sound of the gunshot.

Mrs Seymour said: “I am not relaxed, after the incident on Saturday night. It feels almost like with every little crack that I hear, my body is
just shaking.”

Mrs. Seymour tearfully told iNews how the horror unfolded. She said: “It was like a scene in a movie. It was a drama. The entire robbery took place in just about three minutes. I have never seen anything happen like this before. We were just about to close when we saw the gunman.

“The first person that he approached was my granddaughter. I didn’t see when another cashier ran off, or the men that were buying the fish.

“ I heard my granddaughter scream out “Grandma!” Realising what was going on, I started to shout out to her to give him the cash. Soon after the second customer ran off, the masked gunman fired a shot.

“When I heard my granddaughter cry out, I thought that she was shot. I started to cry out that my granddaughter was shot, and then the gunman turned the gun towards a second cashier, ordering money.”

According to Mrs. Seymour, not only did the gunman rob an undetermined amount of money from the establishment, but he also looted some of their merchandise from off the shelves.

“While he was leaving, he was just scraping everything from off the shelf. I was in shock.” she said.

The store’s manager, Mrs. Heather Seymour, Eunice’s daughter, says she is greatly saddened by the incident, as the entire family and all staffers of the establishment are very generous and are well liked within the community.

“This little place gives everything to everybody. The community is very disappointed and upset. People in the area all swarmed the police. They are both angry and surprised that this could happen.” she said.

The police have arrested a 52-year-old man in connection with the incident.

The police picked up the man, who is now being held on suspicion of robbery, shortly after the incident.

Meanwhile less than a quarter of a mile away at Solomon’s Groceries thieves struck just 24 hours before.

Police have not said if they are linking the crimes.

The owner of Solomon’s Groceries, Lewis Solomon, says he is gravely concerned about the current spate and frequency of robberies within the Island.

A lone gunman demanded cash before fleeing empty handed

Mr. Solomon said: “It was an attempted robbery, but it wouldn’t be the first time that I was robbed.

“At this time, with the crime rate being what it is, it is hard to think about expanding business.

“There were no customers in the shop at the time. We were closed when I was confronted. The man with the gun came over and said, ‘Big man, give me what you got.’

“I said I had no money to give him. He ran across the road and went through a parking lot.”

Anyone with information about either robbery should contact George Town Police Station on 949 4222.

[nggallery id=68]