Granny fights off bandit during home invasion

Senior Reporter

sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt

When La Brea grandmother Peggy-Ann Athill was attacked by a bandit in her home on Monday, she did not quiver in fear.

Instead, the 63-year-old woman fought the masked intruder, who ended up fleeing from her home empty-handed.

Although she suffered injuries, Athill yesterday thanked God for allowing her to survive the ordeal.

“God gave me the strength to fight, it was only God. It could have been worse.”

She told Guardian Media she received over 20 stitches on her right thumb after sustaining a deep laceration, a burst lip and some cuts and bruises.

“I sell alloo pies and pholourie in Point Fortin. But if my finger does not heal I may not be able to do anything again,” she said.

Recalling the incident, she said on Monday at 9 am, she was cleaning and preparing to go to a funeral but the dog kept barking so she went outside to investigate.

Her daughter and five grandchildren, ranging in ages from one to 16, were not at home.

She observed nothing strange so she resumed her task.

Athill said she heard a footstep and as she pulled the curtain, she saw the bandit in her daughter’s room. She said the man grabbed her neck and told her not to make any noise.

“He said, ‘where the gold?’ I said, ‘I don’t have any gold’. He hold on to my neck and two of us scrambling. When I turn, I see a rusty cutlass on the ground. I don’t know what really cut me and we scramble, scramble.”

She said they ended up against the stove, which toppled.

The woman explained that when the bandit ran out of the house, another man was waiting for him and the pair ran into nearby bushes.

In retrospect, Athill said she was not sure whether the rusty weapon was a knife or cutlass but the bandit left with it.

While she is grateful to be alive, the grandmother of five complained that the police did not treat the incident with “any urgency.” She said she wasn’t confident the assailant would be arrested.

However, Athill said, “God is still in control. It could have been worse, so I thank God for my life.”

Officers from the La Brea Police Station are investigating.

The post Granny fights off bandit during home invasion first appeared on CNC3.