Shortly after he was robbed, a foreigner flagged down a taxi for help, only to realise that the bandits were in the vehicle...
News Source: Trinidad Guardian
Canadian Robert McDowell, who was shot in the head by one of the bandits, is now fighting for life at Intensive Care Unit at Port-of-Spain General Hospital.
Northern Division police have launched a hunt for the bandits.
Hospital sources said McDowell, 43, a university professor and martial arts expert from Kitchener, Ontario, lost a considerable amount of blood, and underwent emergency surgery to remove a bullet lodged in his brain.
McDowell, who belongs to the karate group United Shito-Ryu, was invited here to participate in the first Pan American karate tournament, which was held over the Easter weekend.
Investigators said that shortly after 10 pm, McDowell and seven other Canadians who had just finished dinner, were walking back to Hotel Hosanna on Eastern Main Road, St Augustine, when they were confronted by three armed men.
The men ordered the group to hand over their money, jewelry, cellphones and credit cards, then fled.
Shortly after, the Canadians stopped a taxi to take them to the police station.
However, they noticed the same three men who had just robbed them in the vehicle.
One the bandits whipped out a gun from his waist and fired at the men.
McDowell was the only man hit.
The taxi driver was ordered to drive off.
A source close to McDowell said his wife had been contacted but was unable to secure a flight due to the One-Day International cricket matches between the West Indies and England taking place this weekend.
Fraud Squad detectives have alerted banks and other financial institutions to be on the alert for people who may try to use the cards.
McDowell?s colleagues are due to leave on Tuesday.
Original Story published in Trinidad Guardian on April 24, 2004
