Reward Extended Following Armed Robbery

30 March 2011, 16:00

A £10,000 reward is now being offered by Crimestoppers for information following an attmepted armed robbery in Watford, which led to a pensioner being shot.

The amount was originally set at £1,000 but has been extended following...........

The incident took place between 7.05am and 7.10am on Thursday, December 30 at Kays Newsagents in St Albans Road.

A man entered the store, threatened the male and female members of staff to open the till and then shot the man. The suspect then left the store in an unknown direction.  Nothing was stolen during the incident but a 70 year man was shot in the stomach and underwent a seven hour operation to save his life.

The offender is described as a white man aged in his late teens to early 20s. He was of a slim build with a thin face and was between 5ft 6ins and 5ft 8ins tall. He was wearing a woolly hat, a black or dark blue jumper and black trousers. He had a cream scarf covering his face from the bridge of his nose downwards.

Ann Scott, Eastern Regional Manager for Crimestoppers said:

“Please contact the independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or submitting a form via www.crimestoppers-uk.org so this awful crime can be solved. We do not ask for your name and no call is traced or recorded. You won’t have to go to court or give a statement to the Police – we only want to know what you know, not who you are. In the 23 years that Crimestoppers has been running we have never broken our anonymity promise.”

Peter Camilletti, Chair of Hertfordshire Crimestoppers, is urging anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to pass on information:

“Offences involving firearms are extremely rare in Hertfordshire which makes this incident all the more shocking. If there is anyone who was in the area shortly before or after the event who remembers seeing anything suspicious or witnessed the event please get in contact with Crimestoppers. Was someone you know acting suspiciously on that day or have they confessed to being involved? Crimestoppers would like to know.”

Up to £10,000 is being offered for any information which leads to the arrest and charge of the person(s) responsible. Rewards can only be claimed by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Information can also be given on line at www.crimestoppers-uk.org but rewards cannot be claimed if giving information via the online form. Only information given to Crimestoppers is eligible for a reward.