Taxi driver shot during hold-up in Penal, suspects held minutes later

Sascha Wilson 

A taxi driver was shot during a hold-up in Penal on Wednesday morning, but quick action by security officers led to the arrest of two Venezuelan nationals minutes later.

Police said around 6 am, the 55-year-old driver picked up a 33-year-old man at Mohess Road Extension, who sat in the front seat of his silver Nissan Tiida. About ten minutes later, he picked up two other men at Clarke Road, near the pond.

As the vehicle neared the Heritage compound, the driver felt a gun barrel pressed to the back of his head and heard one of the suspects say, “Relax.” He stopped the car, but when he tried to get out, the armed assailant followed and grabbed him.

During the struggle, the driver was shot in his right thigh. The front-seat passenger fled, and the injured driver ran toward the Heritage compound, where he alerted two security officers.

The officers chased the suspects in their vehicle, caught them, and recovered a Smith & Wesson revolver with two rounds of ammunition. They handed the men and the weapon over to police.

The taxi driver was treated and discharged. Investigations are continuing.