A mourner cries during the prayer vigil held in Fox Hill last night.
By KHRISNA VIRGIL
Tribune Staff Reporter
kvirgil@tribunemedia.net
A WOMAN who witnessed three drive-by gunmen open fire on innocent people, including herself, at a park in Fox Hill says she is lucky to be alive when one of the gunman’s weapons malfunctioned.
The woman, who is the sister of a man who was killed during the shooting, said she was sitting on a wall next to her brother when suddenly he collapsed, his body riddled with bullets.
She requested anonymity as she spoke to The Tribune.
When this reporter arrived at the Princess Margaret Hospital yesterday where the woman was visiting another sibling who was also injured in the shooting, scores of Fox Hillians were gathering in support of the survivors
“We (my sister and two other brothers),” she said, “were just there on the wall and waiting on the results for the Junkanoo.
“Then a little bit later a silver Honda pull up and it was driving slow with four guys in it all with slender features. The driver wasn’t shooting. They were shooting bup! bup! bup! bup! bup! And I heard the passenger in the front say ‘shoots‘ and from his motions I could see he was struggling with the gun, it was jammed.
“The other two continued shooting and me and my brother had to lay back.
“The fact that the gun jammed basically saved a lot of our lives.”
When the gunfire subsided and the woman got up, she called for her brother, but he did not respond.
“My brother never got up. I looked for my other brother, I was screaming out his name. I checked him to see if he was living and I didn’t feel no heartbeat and no pulse.”
Being alive and able to tell the tale of that fatal evening is a blessing, she told The Tribune.
“God was with us. He mussy shield us because my brother and my brother’s sister-in-law who was sitting right on the side of my brother died, but the bullets seemed to skip me and my sister. I am grateful for it.”
But despite the tragedy, sparked by a scourge of violence on the island, the woman’s mother said her life will go on in the Fox Hill community, the only place she knows as home.
“I am not going to let anyone cause me to be a prisoner in my house,” she said. “I am going to move around. This ain’t gonna stop me, no way they (the criminals) ain’t badder than God.
“We still feel safe. That is our home,” she said.
Comments
TalRussell 10 years, 3 months ago
Comrade Head Policeman's says they have SIXTY (60) in they custody for the open-air Fox Hill Massacre which occurred over the weekend. Yes, it is being reported he said SIXTY under they custody? If they was to examine the brain cells of those committing murders and serious and petty crimes in we Bahamaland, they would find evidence of "lead poisoning" up in the brains. And, who exported more lead than any other country? Our new big-money backers. Yet, no member of this government or Hubert's three administrations have spoken out about the lasting effects lead poisoning continues to have on the crime epidemic we are living through. Comrades "lead poisoning" it is the root cause of Bahamaland's crime.
CommonSense 10 years, 3 months ago
You are an idiot.
banker 10 years, 3 months ago
It een lead poisoning -- it's chirren having chirren having chirren with no education, insight, manners, morals or ethics. And it is the way that our Black Moses wanted it so that he could enrich himself and rape the sacred trust that he was given in the ballot box. It is the sins of the father coming back to haunt the children and grandchildren. And it can't be fixed with conventional methods. There will be at least 40 more years in the desert.
JusticeForAll 10 years, 3 months ago
I think 'Banker" makes some interesting comments! We have too many children growing up without proper guidance in the things that make a person a successful individual and a positively contributing citizen. We have too many illegal guns on the street and too many people who seem to profit from that fact. It's very important that we begin to be our brother's keeper again and care for one another to the extent that we help to bring up each other's children. It really does take a whole community to bring up a child. It is my deep conviction that WE NEED MORE OF GOD IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC LIFE!!! One thing we must do as a country is to acknowledge the importance of our tradition of fearing God! Fearing God keeps us CIVILIZED! Don't let anyone fool you - loving your neighbour is not backwards or primitive! it's just good, plain sense. It saves my life and yours! My prayers are with those who are grieving at this time. I also cry out to God for JUSTICE!
TalRussell 10 years, 3 months ago
There is nothing at all interesting about the Comrade Banker's of this Bahamaland who like nothing more than bad mouthing singe mothers as the leading cause for all Bahamalander's crimes and social issues. How dare a single mother give birth to a child? I presume you only mean over-the-hill black singe mothers, right? Of course while lead poisoning is the root cause of many crimes it is by no means the only cause. But ignorance that crime is all about single mothers, is the real root poison so many in our society love to spread.
concernedcitizen 10 years, 3 months ago
@tals ,its not only the single mothers ,someone got them pregnant ,its also the absentee fathers ..There are too many long term studies to even debate that children of single mothers that have babies for multiple absentee fathers do not fair well .There are also too many long term studies to show that children that get the sh@t beat out of them as a form of discipline grow up to solve conflicts through physical violence . Also in the Bahamas the boy babies are considered "more special " and spoiled right up to momma putting the house up for bail when they commit their first serious crime ,the girl babies are nearly ignored until as teenagers they get pregnant and produces grans ,,,as long as the cycle of being irresponsible in our baby making continues crime and poverty will increase ,,we have the lab results all around us ,,Jamaica ,,Haiti etc ,,Look at crimes rates in countries where the norm is 2 to 3 children w/ two involved adults in their upbringing ,,,facts don,t lie
banker 10 years, 3 months ago
I don't know why you deny with vehemence simple socio-economic facts, other than you must be a single mother yourself. Let me educate you:
So yes, I do mean over-the-hilll black single mothers! Damn right! Your denial of the FACTS makes the problem worse.
TalRussell 10 years, 3 months ago
MRI Brain Scans is the way to better understand crime. Comrade it's just i do have a problem when lies are made out to be facts. Some big lies are so ingrained in our society, damaging psychologically while the real root causes of crime go ignored.. I have high confidence that the effects of "lead poisoning" on the brain as a root cause of crime in we Bahamaland. Yet, no one in or out of government ever mentions it, including the so called local crime experts. Why not MRI Brain Scan on every individual convicted of a crime, serious or petty? We can start doing MRI Brain Scans on all the guests up at Her Majesty's Fox Hill Prison.
concernedcitizen 10 years, 3 months ago
There are too many long term studies to even debate ,single mothers w/ absentee fathers effects on crime ,also too many studies to debate the effects of physical abuse under the guise of "spare the rod spoil the child " and the role it plays in violent young adults ..International ,multiple country long term studies ,however if you prefer to call them lies that is your right ,,
concernedcitizen 10 years, 3 months ago
Yes there was lead in toys, paint etc for years ,all over the world .And yes it is bad ,but how come countries w/ stable birth rates and involved parents ,married or not ,ie The Danes ,Swedes , etc have such lower crime rates ..Our homocide rate is 30 per 100,000 ..the more progressive european countries ,listed above are under 2 per 100,000 ,,even the US is 4 per 100.000 overall and is only higher in the inner city ,white or black ,where single mothers are the norm ,,
TalRussell 10 years, 3 months ago
Comrade Concerned Citizen we both believe the same things. Only difference I have more confidence that as much damage is done to the children by their "married' fathers, if still their kids are falling to sleep each night without being able to say good night to their dads. It happens to children up on the Eastern Road as well as Over-the-Hill. Rich folks children are drug addicted too. They steal cars, they steal from their employers. They buy and carry illegal guns. They can lie and cheat as well as any Bamboo Town boy or girl. But you already know that, right?
xtreme2x 10 years, 3 months ago
I read Bankers comment, and I did not where HE/SHE single out single mothers. "chirren having chirren having chirren with no education" Quote above from bankers comment, I think could mean "man and woman making babies".
concernedcitizen 10 years, 3 months ago
ACTUALLY ,alcoholism and drug addiction are prevalent in about 10% of any population ,white ,black ,rich or poor and are becomeing thought of as a medical issue .A large majority of the crime and violence associated w/ drugs is b/c of them being illegal as was the crime and violence associated w/ alcohol during prohibition in the US ..
linnassau 10 years, 3 months ago
Alcoholism must be three times as high in the Bahamas.
John 10 years, 3 months ago
As long as we continue to treat crime like it is some pit- stop in some drag race then the solution for it will continue to evade us. The fight must be a long and sustained effort. It must be an attack from more than one front and results that are meaningful may not be immediate but they can be sustainable. When we look at the fact that the faces of crime are constantly changing, and 24, 24 and 25 year olds are heading some of the most dangerous and most bloody gangs in the country, (and yes some as young as 19), this tells us where the focus on crime must be. You cannot wait until a persons turns 18 and is active In crime to curb his behavior. It is time to stop waiting until we go out and collect bullet riddled bodies to say 'we have had enough of crime. Do not wait until a gun has been used in a murder to say there are too many guns on the street. don't wait until 80 percent of the serious crimes committed are by persons on bail or somehow involves them, to say there are too many people on bail. And remember, too than man is spiritual being.
Moreover, no one is judged from the natural man, thus not so long as he lives in the natural world, for man is then in a natural body; but everyone is judged in the spiritual man, and therefore when he comes into the spiritual world, for man is then in a spiritual body. Emanuel Swedenborg.
and for those who have suffered loss in this national tragedy:
Sometimes, you just have to close your eyes... and be thankful for everything bad or good. John 14:1-4 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”
Read more: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.c...">http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.c...
SP 10 years, 3 months ago
This nonsense need never have happened!
If Barney Rubble Greenslades' head wasn’t so thick he would implement sustained road blocks in strategic areas to stop criminals from roaming around with vehicles full of arms!
But nooooo......!!
proudloudandfnm 10 years, 3 months ago
Did the illuminati give us the lead poisoning? LOLOLOL!!
croberts6969 10 years, 3 months ago
You'll vote for em now rise up against them and demand better. If not, let the criminals carry on.
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