Kung-Fu guard attacked by bandits

FOUR bandits who attacked two security guards at the Williamsville Junior Secondary school on Tuesday night, got more than they bargained for when one of the guards who is trained in martial arts, decided to fight back and rained kicks and cuffs on the surprised bandits. And while he was still overpowered, beaten and handcuffed, martial arts trainee Estate Constable Saleem Karim, 20, told Newsday he believed his fighting skills may very well have saved not only his life, but the life of his fellow MTS security guard Garvin Seepersad. Speaking to Newsday’s South Bureau reporters yesterday, Karim said the incident occurred around 9 pm when two bandits - one armed with a gun and the other with a length of iron, held up the two guards who were at the time on foot patrol of the school compound.

Despite looking down the barrel of a gun, Karim sprang into action when he saw the iron-wielding bandit hit Seepersad who slumped to the ground. Karim said he engaged the two bandits and using his martial arts skill, soon had the intruders on the ground. However, it was then that the two other bandits who were lurking in the shadows attacked Karim from behind, hitting him with lengths of iron. Under the beating, Karim soon joined his fellow security guard on the floor. “Being caught by surprise from behind, I was struck on both shoulders and on my left hand,” Karim said. The guards were then herded into the teachers’ staff-room where the bandits seized Karim’s $900 cellular phone and other personal valuables.