Machete robbery at Carnatic

Thieves wielding a 12inch blade robbed a cash point at Carnatic Halls this morning.

A gang of three men carrying a machete pulled up in a car and attacked a security worker filling up the cash point.

A History fresher saw the incident. He told The Tab: “I was waiting in the queue for the bus to uni, buses running late, and the man was filling up the cashpoint. A big black man in a hoody barges into him as he’s opening the door and we all back away, rather unsure as to what’s going on.

“Two other men appear out of nowhere, one of them holding a machete, blade around 12 inches long. We all run towards the carnibar, the 699 is pulling in as this happens.

“As we get to carnibar, we see a light blue Ford Focus accelerating around the corner and we all split either on to the grass or into the bar, and the car speeds off out of the main entrance. They dropped at least one of the cash boxes.

“I didn’t know what was going at first, adrenaline kicked in when I saw the machete and we all ran, but I was quite shaken afterwards when realizing the severity of what had just happened.”

The car was later found on fire nearby.

A Merseyside Police spokesman said: “At about 11.55am a security guard delivering a cash box to a cash machine located in Liverpool University’s Carnatic Halls on North Mossley Hill Road when he was approached by four males.

“The males, who were armed with a bladed weapon, threatened the guard before assaulting him and demanding the cashbox. The males took the box from the guard and got into a blue coloured vehicle then drive away.

“The guard sustained minor injuries during the incident and has been left shaken following the incident.

“Patrols attended and a search of the area is ongoing. House-to-house enquiries have been undertaken and CCTV is being sought from the area.

During the search of the area officers discovered a blue coloured Ford C-Max alight nearby. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service attended and extinguished the blaze. The vehicle is now in the process of being removed for examination.”

The Uni have since released a statement regarding the incident. A spokesperson said: “A security guard collecting cash from an ATM was the victim of a robbery outside the University’s Carnatic Halls this morning.

Incidents like these are extremely rare. The University takes the safety of its students, staff and visitors extremely seriously and we work closely with police and other agencies to optimise security at both our city centre campus and our halls of residence in South Liverpool. Our halls of residence benefit from 24-hour security patrols and dedicated police officers.”

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