A 22-year-old would-be bandit was shot in the face by an off-duty police officer after he robbed a bakery owner of $30,000 yesterday.
Police said the attempted robbery took place around noon off the Southern Main Road, Curepe.
Police said the owner of Ken Corner Spot Bakery had just withdrew the cash from a nearby bank and was returning to his business along Lyndon Street when two bandits approached him and stole the money.
The off-duty officer was alerted to what was happening next door and came outside to see the thieves making off with the loot.
The officer shot at one of the bandits, hitting him in the mouth.
His accomplice managed to escape in a waiting Suzuki Swift.
When officers searched the bleeding thief, they found the money on him. Police said the man lived in Gonzales, Belmont, and was in a serious condition at hospital last night.
PC Williams, who visited the scene with Sgt Rene Katwaroo and Snr Supt Nelson, is continuing investigations.
In an unrelated incident, the owners of Sylvie’s Roti Shop on Backchain Street, San Juan, were forced to close up shop early after a gunman opened fire outside their business place, injuring two customers.
The injured men, who remained unidentified up to press time, had just entered the business and hadn’t ordered yet when the glass doors and windows were cut op-en by bullets.
At the end of the attack, the men had been shot, one in the wrist and the other in the leg.
Employees said they were thankful the injuries were not more serious, since the recently refurbished roti-shop was filled with the lunchtime crowd.
Officers of the Barataria Police Station are continuing investigations.