The victim of a pistol whipping and robbery has described the harrowing experience and how she now wants to leave the island because she is afraid of what will happen next.

Terrified to reveal her identity because of fears of repercussions, the woman has described how the assailant lay in wait for her to return to her home in South Cayman Palms.

“Normally I don’t drive my car straight up into the drive,” she said. “I turn it around to shine the headlights on the garden, porch and doors to make sure there’s no one there.

“I’ve been doing this since the Estella Roberts incident. I did it on this occasion and didn’t see anyone. I think he was lying on the ground hiding from my car lights.

“When I got out of the car I had my handbag and a bag of groceries over my shoulder. The man said “give me the bag” and tried to grab my handbag from me.

“I didn’t resist but my handbag got tangled around the handle of the grocery bag and he ended up dragging me around the garden. When this didn’t work that’s when he hit me with the butt of the gun three times on the back of the head and once on the forehead.”

The victim was taken to hospital following the attack at 10pm on Saturday where she received numerous stitches but was released following treatment.

She added: “My brother sometimes sits on the porch until about 12 midnight but he was feeling tired and so had gone to bed early. I’m glad he wasn’t outside.

“He has kids and the attacker would have creeped up on him and surprised him. God knows what could have happened then. He was lucky, these things happen for a reason.”

The woman who has lived in Bodden Town for 25 years and Pease Bay for five years before that, says that she doesn’t feel the same now and thinks that she may have been purposely targeted by the heartless thugs.

She said: “I have a salon in George Town and I think that’s why they targeted me. There were three men that came into the salon late on Saturday before we were closing up.

“They just hung around and didn’t get their hair cut. I thought it was a bit strange but didn’t think anything more about it. They could have been trailing me from my place of business.

“They must think that because I have a business that I have a lot of money. But I take precautions, I never carry much money in my bag and recently because of the spate of robberies, I am always very careful when I come home.”

Even though the victim has built her life in Grand Cayman and has family and commitments here, she is still considering leaving because she just doesn’t feel the same about the island.

“Things are going from bad to worse,” she added. “So it’s no wonder people are leaving the island. Every weekend something bad is happening.

“He could easily have shot me. When you are staring down the barrel of a gun and you see you’re life flash before your eyes- everything changes.”

Elsewhere over the weekend a man was stabbed several times in his neck and body during the Wet Fete party on West Bay Road.

He was taken to hospital following the incident in the early hours of Saturday morning but his injuries were not life-threatening. A 25-year-old man was arrested.

And in West Bay just after 5am a teenager was shot in the hip on Anderson Road. He too was taken to hospital but his injuries were not serious.

Gunmen also struck in George Town in broad daylight, holding up a man just before 1pm and making off with gold jewellery.

People with information about any of the incidents can call Crime Stoppers, in confidence, on 800-8477 (TIPS).