Significant increase in murders in Bahamas

NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – Despite a significant increase in the number of murders so far this year in The Bahamas Chief Superintendent of Police Chrislyn Skippings insists that the country is still a safe place.

Figures show that 17 murders have been committed as of this past weekend in which three people, including a woman, were killed, as compared with seven murders recorded between January 1 to 18 last year.

Skippings speaking to reporters at the scene of the latest killing on Sunday, said the incidents are isolated incidents.

“These are incidents involving direct conflict with individuals and you hear me say it over and repeatedly, you got to find a better way to resolve your conflict. Violence is not the answer,” she said.

In the latest murder, Skippings told reporters that officers responded to a call and found a small blue car fleeing the area at a high rate of speed.

They chased the car but it evaded police.

She said the female victim is presumed to be in her mid-20s and is a resident of the south-western district off Carmichael Road.

A few hours before the woman was killed, a 21-year-old man was shot dead and another man was hospitalised in critical condition.

Skippings said the victim, a resident of Grand Bahama, was on the island to attend the funeral of a relative who was murdered last year.

“I can say to you that we are actively pursuing two males who are responsible for this incident, who were in a Nissan vehicle,” she said, adding “one of the males was armed with a high-powered weapon, the other with a handgun, and they opened fire on the two males, which resulted in one of the males succumbing to his injuries on scene.”

The other man who was shot, aged 31, sustained gunshot injuries to his upper torso and remains in critical condition.

The senior police officer told reporters the victims are not known to police.

Last week, the Phillip Davis administration released its crime plan in response to the soaring murder rate, but the opposition called it a “glossy brochure” with vague details and recycled information.