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Deadly Norton St. Shootout…Victim in botched robbery recounts dreadful experience
By Alex Wayne
Norton Street, Lodge resident Neville Leslie sat for an interview with this publication yesterday and recounted his experience after he and his five year-old son were attacked by three gun-toting bandits who eventually met their demise, after an hour-long shootout with polic
Robbery victim Neville Leslie relaxing at his home yesterday
e ranks on Thursday night.
Perched up on a sofa with his calf and instep area in cast (after sustaining a broken toe), Leslie took deep breaths, affirming that it was indeed a difficult ordeal to take himself back to that night when both he and son could have been killed.
“I was in the bottom flat of my home at around 20:00 hrs when a man with a gun suddenly entered through an open door demanding cash. I froze, since I just could not believe my eyes, immediately my mind ran on my five year-old son, who was in a bedroom upstairs.
I was not really panicking for myself, but really for the safety of my son. He pointed his gun in my face, and it was then two other men entered…At least one of them had a gun in his hand, but I am not sure if the third man was armed too. The two that entered ran upstairs and I was forced at gunpoint by the third man, to follow.
By this time, my son was hollering and the men got angry. They kept shouting to the top of their voices that they will kill us bot
The window from which Leslie first lowered his 5-year-old son to safety and subsequently jumped.
h if my son did not remain quiet. Then they tied me up and waving their weapons in our faces kept demanding cash and jewellery. They took away my wallet, which had $30,000 inside, and also collected two laptops, and a cellular phone.
They also kept asking where the foreign woman who came in the other day was. I kept telling them, I don’t wear no gold jewellery as they were indicating, and one of them mentioned that they would have to do to me what they do to other victims. I guess they were talking about killing me… and I closed my eyes and prayed even harder in my mind…all the time my son kept weeping and asking,’ Daddy, they going to kill we?’
I was weeping for my child, but I keep telling him that everything was going to be okay. They were making a lot of noise in the home, and I thank God for that neighbour who alerted a police patrol vehicle that happen to be passing as all this was happening. All the time I was praying in my mind, I have never really prayed to God before like I did that night.
When I heard the voice of policemen outside, I almost died with relief. One of the men looked through a window and pointed his gun at the police and I heard gunshots. They had moved to the other bedroom, so I could not see much of what was happening, but suddenly I heard one of them shout, ‘Oh gosh bai, is police, I get shoot bai…’ And he began groaning.
I used this distraction to untie myself. I removed a few window panes from the bedroom I was in, and when I looked out a police pointed his gun at me, so I shouted,
‘Don’t shoot, just save my son. I slung my son through the window and held him there until the officers below were ready to catch him before I let go. Then I let myself through the window, but I had to jump, and so I landed on the wooden fence outside and fractured one of my toes. I was too scared and traumatised to notice I had the injury at that time”
THE MELEE
By this time, a large crowd gathered at the scene and the police officers had the time of their lives to restrain them from breaking the perimeter set up around the crime scene. As shots rang out, the crowd darted for cover, and both police and media operatives could be seen taking evasive action behind several vehicles.
All around, onlookers were supportive of the police, who were doing all they could to get the bandits to surrender. “Kill them, kill dem backside…” were the shouts of many of those present.
Soon after, there were loud shouts, screams and loud applause from spectators as the police ranks came out with one of the injured bandits who had apparently surrendered – shortly after the bodies of his two accomplices were brought out. The large gathering echoed, ‘Well done, well done… Good work officers!” The injured bandit later succumbed.
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