Massy Supermarket Arnos Vale faces increased criticism for failing to address serious security lapses on its premises, putting customers’ lives at risk.
The latest criticism came from Crystal Wyllie, who described an incident that occurred at Massy Arnos Vale on Thursday night.
The supermarket parking lots have frequently made headlines due to incidents of fights, brawls, loud music, and, as one elderly customer put it, a total lack of control.
On Thursday night, Wylie posted on Facebook an account of a horrific incident in which two men desperately tried to break into her vehicle while her daughter and aunt were inside. Wylie said even with her daughter honking the horn and moving the vehicle from its parked position the men persisted.
Below is her unedited story:
Parked at Massy Arnos Vale at approximately 7:55 p.m. tonight. I left my daughter and aunt inside. Five minutes later, my aunt is running into the supermarket, saying that a man is trying to break into the vehicle.
A medium-sized rasta man and a friend of his tried breaking into the vehicle. Luckily, my daughter saw them acting suspiciously and locked the doors seconds before.
They began honking the horn, and the man refused to run away. My daughter jumped in the driver’s seat and reversed to get away, and the rasta man was still pulling the doors, trying to get inside.
When I came out and made a block looking for them, the bold-faced man stood up at the bus stop watching me, then jumped in a van and left.
Be careful out there, ladies. I don’t know why Massy or the property owner allow people to loiter there. I never felt comfortable going there at night with these men lingering around. Do better, Massy!
Wyllie came in for support, and many shared her concerns and spoke to smaller accounts.
“This is very unfortunate and concerning. Occasionally, loiterers have been observed at the back of Massy Arnos Vale, which is also very poorly lit. This was pointed out to supermarket personnel in the past. Also, it appears that the area is not adequately covered by security, especially in the evenings. Immediate improvement is needed.”
“I don’t feel safe either, my God. One day I was on my way to work and this young man, who seems to be on crack and crazy as they claim, came right up in my face, asking me for money, and I gave him, keeping in mind that I had $600 in my purse and some other money. I was like, supposedly, this boy had to take my whole bag and run. Massy them, nah, go do better until something goes down, and I hope not. There is one malicious vagrant who wants to be touching females, and he is aggressive. I don’t like their kind of thing here. Can you protect us while we spend our money? We can’t walk in peace to go shopping at all. “I don’t see it happening at Greaves.”
“You know I had a similar experience, but thankfully police officers were there at the time, so they went and dealt with him. It’s crazy because even though the door was locked, they were still pulling on the handle. Thank God your daughter didn’t panic.”
“Massy Stores SVG, do something! Too many times, customers are being harassed by loiters. Even sometimes at the one in Stoney Ground, you get cussed out for simply not answering them.”
