The passenger of the scooter entered the Supermarket with his gun and demanded that the cashier handed over all the money, while the other robber stood on the lookout and waiting on the black "get-away" scooter.
A concerned citizen who saw what was taking place notified an off-duty police officer who was in the immediate area (Oasis) of the ongoing situation. The officer Inspector Thomas headed towards the scene and witnessed the robbery in progress.
He pulled his service fire-arm and at the same time noticed that the robber in the supermarket took off running in the direction of the Illidge road round-a-bout. The suspect was ordered by the police officer to stop but continued running. The officer fired a shot in the direction of the robber who had his gun in his hand, however did not stop fleeing.
The suspect on the scooter who saw what was going on took off at high speed. The officer started a foot chase and notified the Central Police Dispatch of the ongoing situation. The officer lost sight of the robber in the dark between the buildings in the area. Several police patrols including the Police K-9 were sent to the area to assist the Thomas. After an intense search the robber was located by the Police K-9 hiding in the bushes at the back of Bosch Brakes. The suspect was arrested on the spot.
During his arrest officer noticed that the robber was shot in the right side of his back. The paramedics attended the suspect on the spot and the transported him under police escort to the St Maarten Medical Center. The robber has been admitted to the hospital (under police security) after undergoing surgery to remove the bullet from his body and for further treatment. The clothing and weapon used in this attempted robbery were found and confiscated. The robbery suspect did not succeed in stealing any money or anything else. The initials of the arrested suspect are M.L. 17 years old and he is from the island of Jamaica.
