Mum was shot as she stepped between daughter and gunman
THE robbery at around 1pm on Tuesday, September 30, 2003, shocked Nottingham and made national headlines.
Giving evidence in court in the 2005 trial, Xanthe Bates described the few moments of the incident as "unreal, like a movie".
She was on the phone to her husband when two people wearing motorcycle helmets entered the shop, which the family had run for 30 years.
She said she noticed them because the second person — Peter Williams, then 19, of no fixed address — "slithered" into the shop and went into a corner.
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One of the robbers, believed to be Brodie, drew a gun from his waistband and pointed it at Mr Bates, then Xanthe.
She said in court: "I was still on the phone and he says 'this is an armed robbery' and points the gun at me. He said 'put that phone down'. I just froze. It was unreal, like a movie."
He was stepping closer to her, as if preparing to fire, when Mrs Bates came past her daughter and put herself between her and the gunman.
As Xanthe put the phone down, the gunman pulled the trigger.
She said the gunman said 'silly cow' after her mother crumpled to the floor, then he started fiddling with the gun.
A struggle between Xanthe, Mr Bates and the two robbers ensued. Both robbers fled, taking a bag filled with jewellery with them.
A witness in Front Street described hearing a loud bang and saw a person scooping up rings and other jewellery from a shop window display. He then saw the two robbers run from the shop. Another witness saw them speeding off on a scooter parked in an alleyway.
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