MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Shock, anger, and fear are the dominant emotions in the central Jamaica town this morning following last Friday’s brazen attack on a team of Beryllium couriers in which the criminals made off with a yet undisclosed amount of money.

According to Custos of Manchester Garfield Green the blatant attack has left Mandeville reeling.

“It goes to show that they [gunmen] have no respect for the life of civilians. They have no respect for the authority. They stopped at nothing to get what they want,” said Green.

“We cannot be too safe at all… I am just concerned that quiet Mandeville. This happened in a quiet town. I never expected this to happen here and it was just very scary. These guys are very scary; they are barefaced. They have no heart,” added Green.

It was a similar sentiment from Lyden “Trevor” Heaven, chairman of FESCO and president of the Lay Magistrates Association of Jamaica (LMAJ) ,who has said the incident is devastating to Mandeville.

“Manchester has never seen anything like this before. Mandeville in particular has been a very peaceful and very residential area. We do not find these kinds of activities in our communities,” Heaven told journalists at the LMAJ Golden Awards ceremony in Mandeville on Saturday night.

“We find this as devastating to all of us, believe me and it just goes to show how [exposed] we are as a country and as a people that we can at any moment be faced with this kind of terror and violent acts against law-abiding citizens,” added Heaven.

Up to press time on Sunday, two of the five people shot in the robbery remained hospitalised in critical condition with family members praying for the best.

A senior police source told the Jamaica Observer that one of the victims was transferred from the Mandeville Regional Hospital to a hospital in the Corporate Area.

“The victim with the gunshot wound to his head was transferred from the same night and at least one other is at the hospital, a female who sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen,” said the police source.

The source pointed out that more than 48 hours after a group of gunmen attacked a Beryllium crew at Scotiabank facility in Mandeville, the police are yet to determine the amount of money they escaped with.

It is expected that detectives probing the heist will meet with officials of Beryllium today to ascertain the figure.

The attack on the Beryllium couriers occurred shortly after 5:00 pm on Friday outside a branch of Scotiabank. Footage, which has gone viral, shows men armed with high-powered weapons making their escape with two bags presumably containing cash.

On Saturday, the police said a suspect was apprehended driving one of two vehicles that it is believed the criminals made their escape in.

Police said the suspect was travelling in a black Toyota Wish motorcar, which was intercepted about 1:30 am on Saturday in the vicinity of Sunset Boulevard on the Four Paths main road in Clarendon.

Police said one 9mm magazine, one M16 round, two AK-47 rounds and a ski mask were found in the vehicle. It is understood that the vehicle, which bore mismatched registration plates, belongs to a resident of Portmore, St Catherine.

“He [the suspect] is in custody, so the investigation is ongoing. We are doing the work up. He will be charged, because ammunition was found in the car, unauthorised possession of ammunition that is automatic. As it relates to what happened on the ground in Mandeville, we will decide as we go forward where he is concerned,” said the source.

According to the source, contrary to some media reports, he was not aware of any former Beryllium employee or bank employees being questioned by the police in relation to the heist.

In a statement on Saturday Scotiabank said it was very saddened by the event and strongly condemn this brazen act of violence.

“We express our sympathies to those injured in this incident and pray for their speedy recovery. We encourage members of the public who have information about this incident to immediately contact the Jamaica Constabulary Force,” said the bank.