But while the cops concentrated on keeping the peace in the city there was a violent assault unfolding in the west.
It happened on Saturday evening at Santa Elena's Sam's Club when shoppers found themselves in terror at the hands of 3 brutal assailants who stormed the place and took them hostage. Cherisse Halsall reviews the shocking surveillance footage.
There were scenes of terror at San Ignacio's Sam's Club on Saturday night at 6:50 when the low-budget store was invaded by armed assailants.
This surveillance video shows a man in a red hoodie assaulting a customer with a shopping cart and then pointing a pump-action shotgun at the sales clerk.
At that point, he likely gives an order for everyone to get down because the customer who had been hit drops suddenly to the ground and he seems to be cowering in fear.
Shortly thereafter that gun man's compliances are seen ransacking and then removing the cashier's box
All the while the gunman in red continues to threaten customers at gunpoint.
The others focus on threatening a member of staff, they pull at her clothing and at one point are seen punching her in the face.
This morning Commissioner Chester Williams condemned the incident:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Having looked at the videos circulating it is a cruel and heinous act perpetrated against those who were involved. I was even more disturbed by the fact that the gunman, one of the gunmen, had a gun pointed at a person in the store and despite that still hit the person in the face. That is really terrible."
And it's especially terrible because one of these criminals is a man who once swore to serve and protect.
Reporter:
"Commissioner, can you say if a police officer was involved sir?"
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"No, that individual has been dismissed by me over a year ago and he's no longer a police officer, so an ex-police officer yes."
It is harrowing footage that certainly sends a chill through the heart of every member of the San Ignacio, Santa Elena communities. The only good news is that according to the commissioner the cops are close to an arrest.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"And so police in Sn Ignacio are following that incident. We currently have a number of persons detained who we believe are involved and investigators are -together, hopefully by the end of the day today, we should be making significant progress toward making an arrest."
The robbers got away with an undisclosed amount of cash, six laptops from the store's electronics section, and a customer's cell phone.
