On Friday MORNING some people I know were robbed at gunpoint in their house just outside Cabarete.
They are retired and have lived here for 5 years and take all the usual security precautions, bars on windows, dog etc. and a watchyman armed with a pump action shotgun.
So what happened...
The watchyman finished his night shift at 6 AM as usual, and put the shotgun away in a locked cabinet inside a locked pool house.
The 60 year old lady of the house let the German Shepherd dog out at 7 AM and put the coffee on. The husband was still in bed.
A few minutes later she went to retrieve the shotgun from the pool house to place it inside the main house as usual.
As she approached the pool house, she was attacked by 2 masked men armed with machetes.
Machetes were held to her throat whilst they demanded the keys to the pool house and shotgun cabinet. She was too shocked and traumatised to scream or shout a warning to her husband.
Naturally she complied and the masked men now had a loaded shotgun which they held to her head.
They then demanded the keys to the safe. The safe was located in another building whilst the keys were in the main house.
So at gunpoint she retrieved the keys from the main house, still maintaining an unwilling silence as she figured that her husband would take action against the armed robbers should he realise what was taking place.
She was then marched to the other building with a gun at her head and a machete at her throat where she opened the safe as requested.
After removing the contents the armed men tied her up and made their escape.
The husband only discovered what had happened a few minutes later when he realised he hadn't heard his wife for a while.
ALL THIS TOOK PLACE IN BROAD DAYLIGHT!!!!
They are obviously both now absolutely freaked by what has happened to the extent that they may leave the DR and we now have another weapon in the hands of the bad guys.
They are retired and have lived here for 5 years and take all the usual security precautions, bars on windows, dog etc. and a watchyman armed with a pump action shotgun.
So what happened...
The watchyman finished his night shift at 6 AM as usual, and put the shotgun away in a locked cabinet inside a locked pool house.
The 60 year old lady of the house let the German Shepherd dog out at 7 AM and put the coffee on. The husband was still in bed.
A few minutes later she went to retrieve the shotgun from the pool house to place it inside the main house as usual.
As she approached the pool house, she was attacked by 2 masked men armed with machetes.
Machetes were held to her throat whilst they demanded the keys to the pool house and shotgun cabinet. She was too shocked and traumatised to scream or shout a warning to her husband.
Naturally she complied and the masked men now had a loaded shotgun which they held to her head.
They then demanded the keys to the safe. The safe was located in another building whilst the keys were in the main house.
So at gunpoint she retrieved the keys from the main house, still maintaining an unwilling silence as she figured that her husband would take action against the armed robbers should he realise what was taking place.
She was then marched to the other building with a gun at her head and a machete at her throat where she opened the safe as requested.
After removing the contents the armed men tied her up and made their escape.
The husband only discovered what had happened a few minutes later when he realised he hadn't heard his wife for a while.
ALL THIS TOOK PLACE IN BROAD DAYLIGHT!!!!
They are obviously both now absolutely freaked by what has happened to the extent that they may leave the DR and we now have another weapon in the hands of the bad guys.