Police are investigating whether a suspended police officer, who was found shot in the face on St. Vincent Road yesterday, was involved in a daytime shootout and botched robbery of an armored truck outside Island Game web shop at Faith Avenue and Cowpen Road. Police said they found a mask and ammunition for a high-powered rifle near the officer shortly after four men shot at and tried to rob the armored truck, which was parked outside the busy plaza where the web shop is located.
The masked men, outfitted with high-powered weapons, and at least one handgun, tried to carry out the heist just after 11 a.m., police said. Armored truck guards had just begun to load cash from Island Game into the vehicle when the masked men accosted them, Superintendent Paul Rolle told reporters at the scene. At some point during the exchange the suspects shot at the armored truck workers, who then returned fire, Rolle added.
The culprits then left the area in a silver car, without any cash. Shortly after the masked men escaped, the suspended police officer was found lying on nearby St. Vincent Road with a gunshot wound to the face, Assistant Commissioner Anthony Ferguson said. The injured officer was taken to hospital and was in police custody. Ferguson said while police were investigating how the officer got shot, he could not confirm if the officer was involved in the robbery attempt. Police also suspect that the men might have abducted an unidentified woman before they escaped the area, Rolle said, however he could not confirm this.
"Persons reported hearing a female scream as the vehicle was driving off during the exchange of gunshots and heard a voice of a female inside this vehicle," Rolle said. "We believe that the culprits may have abducted her in an effort to make good their escape." Police suspect that the men abandoned their getaway car in the Seven Hills subdivision and set it on fire. Rolle said it was unclear if other people were hurt during the shootout. "We are getting some information that another person may have been shot," he said. "We'll know as the day progresses as they show up to the hospital."
Patrons of the other businesses adjacent to the web shop told The Nassau Guardian of the horror they experienced as they watched the scene play out before them. A mother, who was doing laundry when the shootout occurred, said she quickly moved her child out of harm's way after she saw the men open fire. "I was washing and when I looked outside I heard shots," said the woman, who did not want to be identified.
"I thought it was firecrackers at first until I looked out and saw men dressed in black with masks on and they were shooting at the armored truck, so I ran out to get my child from outside." The woman said patrons of the laundromat huddled in the back of the establishment during the shootout. Anastasia Coakley, an employee of Budget food store, which is also located in the plaza, said she and others inside the shop feared for their lives. "I was on my register and all we heard were gunshots and everybody who was in Budget just dropped their groceries," she said. "Everybody just ran in the back to the meat department and some hid in the freezer, some [left] their children, [left] everything. So we were just afraid."
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