On February 19, 2009 a person who was driving a car at the level of Rambaud on the RN7 was forced to stop as a car was across the road and, under the threat of weapons, his was stolen.
An aggression took place at Marina Royal whereby a person was shot. On Friday, February 20, at Pic Paradise, tourists were robbed of their moneys under the threat of a weapon by individuals who left the scene driving away with the vehicle of their victims. On Sunday, February 22, in the evening, there was an armed robbery in a place of business at Cul-de-Sac during which several shots went off injuring two persons. On February 25, in the middle of the night, tourists driving in Marigot were blocked by a vehicle which armed individuals exited in order to take the victims' vehicle. Finally, still on February 25, close to the Oyster Pond Border, a theft with violence was committed against a person whose vehicle collided with another before coming to a stop, violence was exercised by the aggressors.
The gendarmerie has deployed all its resources to try to curb these occurrences and undertake the necessary investigations. Besides the patrols carrying out general supervision, the investigating officers of the research squad and of the community squad, backed by technicians in criminal identification, have been using every possible means to identify the culprits of these very serious offences. For this reason, the group VAMA (for armed robberies), instituted several months ago, identified the presumed perpetrator of a theft with violence committed against two tourists in Grand Case on February 21 early in the afternoon; after being placed into custody for questioning, he was sent to Guadeloupe on February 25 to answer his acts.
Some rules of caution are recommended for victims confronted with such situations: as much as possible one needs to stay calm and keep one's cool without physically resisting the aggressors; one must never try to play the "hero": obeying the aggressors orders is the best way not to irritate these individuals whose behaviour is unforeseeable.
Despite the difficulty and presence of mind required in such circumstances, one must try to detect certain elements about the perpetrators and their vehicle, and take note of them without being influenced by them.
Seeking elements that will be useful to the investigation also requires the preservation of traces and signs. On waiting for the investigating officers, one must preserve traces and signs by not adding any more on the premises of the offence (cups, cigarettes, footprints, etc.); do not touch objects that the culprits have touched or left behind.
In all cases, 17 (emergency number of the gendarmerie) must be dialled as soon as possible, preferably by witnesses or other persons.