PHILIPSBURG - Police are investigating another fatal shooting incident, this time in the district of Cole Bay close to 6:30pm Monday.

 

Two robbers stormed the Sol gas station, approached a gas attendant identified as Gerard Saulveur and demanded the cash from him. One of the robbers took the money from the attendant and during a struggle shot him three times in the back and head.

 

The two robbers managed to escape in a black Hyundai I20.

 

Just across Simpson Bay Lagoon, minutes after the shooting took place, Sol Simpson Bay also was robbed in a similar fashion by one of the bandits involved in the Cole Bay robbery. The Simpson Bay attendant cooperated and handed over the cash to the robber.

 

Police responded immediately to the call of the second robbery and dispatched patrols to the area. In efforts to secure the area, they checked vehicles on the causeway and noticed a suspicious black Hyundai I20. They searched the vehicle and found money believed to be from the Simpson Bay and Cole Bay robberies in the possession of two men. The suspects are believed to be under the age of 20.

 

Police spokesman Chief Inspector Ricardo Henson confirmed that two men had been arrested on the spot and taken into custody close to 7:00pm Monday. The money and vehicle were confiscated by investigators.

 

Henson confirmed that the two incidents were linked and said it seemed that these suspects’ plan was to rob the gas stations almost at the same time. Still early in the investigation, police acted quickly and managed to apprehend the two suspects, he said.

 

All gas stations on the Dutch side of the island closed after the two robberies.

 

Roberto Gumbs was shot down by assailants in a blue Hyundai I20 during a drive-by shooting in Middle Region during the early hours last week Tuesday. Gun crimes continue to be a major concern for police.

 

The Daily Herald