FREEPORT, Grand Bahama – An armed robbery at the FirstCaribbean International Bank in Freeport and what police say is an unconnected shooting in Eight Mile Rock Tuesday, left investigators combing the island for at least five men thought to be involved in the incidents.
Investigations led to the arrest of three bank robbery suspects, and detectives said they were in search of two men thought to be connected to the Eight Mile Rock shooting.
There were no major injuries in the bank robbery, but two shooting victims in Eight Mile Rock were receiving treatment, one at the Rand Memorial Hospital and the other at Eight Mile Rock Clinic, according to police officials.
Shortly before 11am, police said they received a report of a bank robbery in progress at FirstCaribbean (formerly CIBC) on Queen’s Highway.
When the Bahama Journal arrived on the scene shortly after 11am, police were collecting data, sifting through shattered glass and interviewing customers still inside the bank.
Clad in his work uniform and sitting quietly on a company vehicle, Benjamin Rolle, 31, said, “I was in the bank and I saw a white Jeep Cherokee pull up and a [man] came out with a mask on and with a gun in his hand. The man shot out the glass [of the main entrance door].
“I ran behind the desk and then I saw three other men with guns. I had my cell phone and I called [the police] to tell them that we have a robbery at the bank. The men then ran outside and into the Jeep and I ran outside to see if I could get the license plate number, but I couldn’t.”
Several of the bank’s customers later left the scene, expressing relief that they came out of the incident unharmed.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade said officers received information that led them to the housing settlement of Queen’s Cove, which is north of Queen’s Highway, near Eight Mile Rock.
He said shortly before noon police discovered a white Jeep Cherokee off the settlement’s main road. The vehicle was parked with the engine running. Investigators soon focused their attention on a house several yards away from the location of the jeep, according to Mr. Greenslade.
He told reporters at the scene that, “We have three adult suspects in our custody, but it is much too early in the investigations to give anymore information on that.
“I’m not able to speak to the issue of cash [that may have been stolen] because it might interfere with the investigations, but three females have been taken to the Rand [Memorial Hospital]. Two of those cases were related to emotional trauma and we do have a female suffering from minor cuts and abrasions from some broken glass.”
Mr. Greenslade added that police found a second vehicle and were in search of more suspects connected to the bank robbery.
Just before ACP Greenslade’s press statement, a report came through on a police radio regarding a shooting in Hanna Hill, Eight Mile Rock.
Several officers were forced to make a mad dash from the crime scene in Freeport to the crime scene in the western settlement of Hanna Hill.
Police set up a roadblock at the entrance of the main roadway into Eight Mile Rock. Some residents soon became concerned that the suspected bank robbers may have escaped into the area.
The Journal observed an officer holding one man to the ground at gunpoint at the roadblock. Residents, meanwhile, gathered near the scene to find out what was happening.
Scores of ambulances and police vehicles sped to Eight Mile Rock, but Superintendent Leland Russell told reporters at the Eight Mile Rock Clinic that the shooting in Hanna Hill did not appear connected to the bank robbery.
“The information is sketchy, but Stephanie Hanna of Hanna Hill had a car for sale at her residence and we are told that someone took the shooter to [Hanna] and for some reason the shooter opened fire,” he said. “A second person [in the area] also received a [bullet] graze to head.”
Ms. Hanna was shot in the upper left arm and was taken to the Rand Memorial Hospital in stable condition.
“We had the roadblock earlier [because] we had information that the persons were making their escape in a white Buick,” Mr. Russell said. “We checked two white Buicks and found that the persons [inside] were not involved so we ended up letting them go.”
According to Mr. Russell, police believe the suspect is a resident of Hanna Hill. He said a motive for the shooting had not yet been established and police were combing the areas of Hanna Hill and Freeport where the suspect and his alleged accomplice may be hiding.
Sharon Williams, The Bahama Journal
