Robbery reported at Scotiabank in downtown GT

At least one armed suspect entered the Scotiabank on Cardinall Avenue in downtown George Town just before noon Thursday and pointed a weapon at a bank employee, according to eyewitness accounts of the situation.

“He had something pointed at the fella,” according to one witness to the robbery who spoke to the Compass minutes after the incident occurred. “He was dark, and had some kinda bandages wrapped over his head.”

“I called and I was just asking [my husband] what time he wanted to pick up lunch  and he said ’oh I’ve got to go the bank’s being robbed’,” said Tara Thompson who was outside the bank minutes after the robbery was reported.

Royal Cayman Islands Police did not immediately say how many suspects might have been involved in the heist and what, if anything, was taken.

No arrests were immediately reported. No one was hurt in the robbery and no shots were fired, police said.

Thursday’s incident was the first bank robbery to occur on Grand Cayman in more than a year. The last successful attempt at a heist was in March 2011.

Grand Cayman has seen five robberies at local banks since February 2010, which might not sound like a lot compared to many other countries. However, it’s two more than the country has seen in the two previous decades.
Records examined by the Caymanian Compass show that Cayman National Bank branches were robbed in 1989 1994, and 2006.

Starting in February 2010, another Cayman National Bank branch in Savannah was robbed, followed by a hold-up in September at Fidelity Bank on Dr. Roys Drive in George Town, and another heist in November at the Compass Centre Butterfield Bank.

In March 2011, armed robbers struck First Caribbean in Plaza Venezia on North Sound Road. Police said the suspects didn’t take anything from the bank, but two customers were robbed and witnesses said a security guard was held at gunpoint.