Robber burns business

A brazen thief left Bank Hall Main Road, St Michael, in chaos yesterday afternoon after robbing and burning down a wholesale chicken business.About 3:30 p.m. the man entered Chicken Galore, robbed a cashier, and then threw a Molotov Cocktail into the building.Terrified employees fled to safety as the incendiary device caught fire, destroying the building before a tender from the Barbados Fire Service’s Probyn Street, Bridgetown headquarters could bring the blaze under control.None of the business’ four employees was hurt, but cashier Wendy Ross and other workers who witnessed the drama were treated for shock.Public Relations Officer of the Royal Barbados Police Force, Inspector David Welch, informed the SATURDAY SUN that the man escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash, and at press time was still at large.Loss valueA large crowd gathered as reports spread about the robbery and people saw the smoke.The depot’s branch manager Ingrid Eastmond came to the scene and confirmed the robbery, but was unable to state the value of loss suffered due to the fire.She also spoke to the staff, and comforted Ross after her ordeal.“We can’t give a value right now,” she told reporters. “The police are still here and the Fire service is still wetting down the building because of the intense heat.”“Luckily, the staff are okay. The cashier is a bit shaken up because of the robbery,” Eastmond added.“When the guy was finished robbing the depot, he took a bottle that he had a cloth in, lit it, and threw it over the counter where the cashier was. That’s as much as I know so far,” Eastmond said.The company’s assistant general manager Jeffrey Goddard also arrived at the scene to speak to staff and members of the Royal Barbados Police Force investigating the incident.According to Inspector Welch, more information would have to be garnered from investigating officers, as the police are yet to determine if the perpetrator was armed.