Three police officers chasing an armed robbery suspect had to duck behind a patch of banana trees to take cover from several rounds of gunfire.
None of the officers was injured, but the suspect is believed to have escaped with $6,000 in jewellery, which he stole from an elderly San Fernando woman.
Around6 pmyesterday, Jacqueline Gay, 62, was at her Naparima/Mayaro Road home in Cocoyea Village when a man with a Rasta hairstyle and dark coloured clothes approached her with a knife. He snatched her gold chain valued $1,000 and gold bracelet estimated at $5,000 escaped on foot.
After Gay reported the robbery to Mon Repos police, a team of officers caught up with the suspect at the nearby Best Street with a gun in his hand. On seeing the officers, he ran into a banana plantation at the adjacent Andrews Avenue.
As the officers gave chase, the suspect turned around and fired several shots at the officers, forcing them to take cover.