After traumatic home invasion, Phillipine man wants a gun

Vijay Ragoonanan shows his injured eye and lip from the beating he received during a home invasion on November 4 - Photos by Rishard Khan

A Phillipine family of seven were tied, beaten and robbed by six armed men during a home invasion in the early hours of November 4, just metres away from the Prime Minister's house. They now look forward to the proposed stand-your-ground legislation and owning a firearm to give themselves a fighting chance should they ever face a similar ordeal.

Sitting outside his modest Whispering Winds home built and nurtured through 35 years of hard work as a farmer, Vijay Ragoonanan, 53, adjusted the shades he is now forced to wear until his eye heals from injuries sustained in the attack. The Prime Minister's house is a mere stone's throw away.

When he retired to bed with his wife Betty Jagdeo, 47, and five children on November 3, he never dreamt he would endure the worst nightmare of his life in just a few hours.

Around 3 am, six masked armed men kicked in his front door and then entered his bedroom, where his two youngest children, 14 and seven years old, were also sleeping, all the while claiming to be police. The men tied their hands together and duct taped their feet and mouths. They would go on to do the same to his other children, who were sleeping in separate rooms, assaulting one of them.

Pointing a gun at his face, the attackers ordered: "Don't move I go kill you," and demanded money.

"I say I don't have no money, then they start to hit me. They hit me a gun butt here on meh head and they hit me a next gun butt in my eye and they hit me a gun butt in my mouth and then they drag me out of the room. When they drag me out of the room they start to kick me and cuff me."

He said the men then ransacked the house, taking everything from phones and jewellery to "bobs."

One of the bedrooms ransacked by bandits at Vijay Roagoonanan's home 

"We does see it in news. I say this is like a nightmare, and I say this really happening to me? I born and grow here."

He said he and his neighbours all lived peacefully with each other and having spent his entire life in the area, he never once felt unsafe.

"If you had tell me walk that road 12 o'clock in the night I would walk it."

It's why he said he never barricaded his home or installed burglar-proofing.

While the thieves made away with their material possessions, he said they stole his family's peace of mind. Now, he said, his children sleep in shifts, keeping an eye outside for any strange activity. Ragoonanan said he hasn't eaten since the attack.

Commenting on the incident in media reports, Persad-Bissessar said the incident was a prime example of why she intends to bring the stand-your-ground legislation to Parliament before the end of the year.

For Ragoonanan and his wife, it's welcomed news. He said he intends to apply for a firearm. It's the first time he's considered getting a gun. He hadn't even thought about it after his brother, Niradh Ragoonanan, 46, a PH driver from La Romaine was found murdered a few minutes away in April.

When asked how they felt about those who were against the legislation, Ragoonanan said: "I always felt safe but when this happen by your doorstep or inside your room, then it's a different story."

Ragoonanan suspects the attack stemmed from two recent incidents where he stopped a man attempting to steal some fruits from a nearby property. In the second instance, he said the man drew a gun and threatened to kill him.

Police said investigations are ongoing.

Having lost all their savings and still trying to recover from poor crop yields, Ragoonanan is appealing for assistance to burglar-proof his home. He can be reached at 771-1869.