It will probably be a number of years before young Betty'smind fully understands what had and could have happened approximately two weeks ago when criminals stole her parents' car in broad daylight, while she had a passenger seat view of the incident.

The child, who appeared to be no older than three, was able to recall her parents' ordeal as if it were just yesterday. As THE WEEKEND STAR stood at the front gate of her parents' home, the little pink-clad angel said: "The gunman took away daddy's car."

Her tone was that of childish innocence, the type that makes you say "awww, how cute", even though there was nothing pleasant about the event.

Google-Ann, the child's mother, still has problems talking about the situation, it is not everyday that she has a gun pointed to their chest at close range and gets ordered around in no pleasant terms.

"My knees get weak when I remember it," she said.

And after finally mustering up enough courage, she shared her experience."It was about 6:55 a.m. last Monday and my husband and my daughter were outside, he was putting water in the vehicle," she recalled. "My husband put my daughter in the car and I was going around to get in when I saw two guys walking up the street. They looked normal but they were walking fast."

brandished guns

The mother and wife recalled that the next thing she saw was when both men brandished guns from under their shirts and stated: "Hey gyal if you move or mek nuh noise we kill yuh!"

She said the thugs held both her husband and herself at gunpoint and gained access to their Honda motor car. As soon as the thugs got inside they threw out little Betty's school bag and lunch kit. The mother said she asked them not to take her baby and they ordered her to remove her from the backseat. They then sped off and fired two shots in the air as they escaped.

Google-Ann's family is just one of many in the Ensom City, St Catherine community that are being plagued by crooks.

Just a day before their incident, on another avenue some seconds away, the driver of a 2006 Suzuki Swift was saved, not by the bell, but by the kill switch on the car.

The driver and a relative had just returned home after purchasing ice cream when the armed thieves pounced. It was 2:25 p.m. and the sun was still enjoying the Sunday afternoon.

"As we drove up they walked up towards us and one of them took out a gun," the resident recalled. She said the crook then grabbed the keys, shoved her relative and herself out of the way and fired a warning shot before telling everybody to "run!"

The men then made off with the car but they did not get very far. The kill switch in the vehicle soon stopped it and the criminals abandoned the vehicle. The owner later recovered it.

Another resident shared her encounter which took place in January when she pulled up in her driveway sometime after 8:30 p.m. after a church service. The woman said that just as her son and herself exited the vehicle and made their way to the house's entrance, she noticed two guys walking up the street.

She did not pay them much mind however, but the next glance that she took over her shoulder would reveal one of the men pointing a gun at her.

"So I shouted out and started pleading the *lo** against them," the woman said. "The one with the gun said 'is just because you a Christian yuh nuh', then they ran off."

The WEEKEND STAR heard of numerous other cases where residents' vehicles were stolen in the wink of an eye. There was even talk of residents being taken along for a ride after their cars were stolen. In a few of the cases the crooks even left the owners by the roadway, offering them $100 to find their way back home. These persons could not be reached however.

Bancroft Anglin, head of the community's neighbourhood watch said that the theft of cars has become a "sore issue" for the area but he said that he believed the police were increasing their efforts against the crime.

When the Spanish Town Police were contacted about the matter a senior cop said that the police were doing all they could to cure the plague with the limited resources they had.

Names changed to protect identities