Bartica bandit beaten by taxi driver, flees scene

An unknown man, who was armed with a handgun, is on the run after he was beaten by a Bartica taxi driver who he tried to rob on Monday night.

According to a police report, the 24-year-old driver was told to pick up someone in front of the Bartica Hospital in Region Seven (Cuyuni- Mazaruni) at around 18:50 hrs on Monday.

Upon arriving at the hospital, a man with plaited hair who was wearing a tope and a mask, entered the vehicle and asked to be taken to Mora Camp.  When the driver got to the location, however, the man reportedly pulled out a black handgun and attempted to take away the driver’s gold chains from around his neck.

Police said the driver resisted and wrestled the fireman away from the perpetrator. While doing so, the driver hit the man in his head twice with the firearm, causing a round to be discharged from the firearm.

Subsequently, it was reported that the suspect escaped from the car and fled the scene. The taxi driver then took the firearm and handed it over to police officers at the Bartica Police Station. Police reported that the firearm was a .32 Taurus pistol with the serial number filed off.

Meanwhile, the area was searched but the suspect has not been found as yet. A black tope was, however, found at the scene.