By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said yesterday the attack on his body guard proves that no one is “safe” from the unrelenting scourge of crime in the country.
Speaking to reporters outside of Cabinet, Mr Davis said Bahamians, from all walks of life, need to come together to help in the fight against crime.
His comments came after his personal aide, Sergeant Andrew Sweeting, was shot in front of a residence behind Prince Charles Shopping Centre, early Monday morning.
Sweeting was shot in the lower abdomen and left palm, during an armed robbery by two assailants.
Police have confirmed they are questioning three men in connection with the shooting. The men, ages 23, 36 and 18, all of Nassau Village were taken into custody around noon on Monday.
Mr Davis said he spoke with Sergeant Sweeting yesterday morning. He said he is doing well and is “eager” to return to work.
“I have spoken and seen him,” Mr Davis said, “he is in good spirits, he is going to be well. His injuries are not life threatening. Thank God he is still with us today. The incident doesn’t add anything to our criminal activity and it doesn’t take anything away, but it is still unacceptably high and what it tells us is that none of us are safe from what is taking place in our country today. We must all come together and make a concerted effort to fight the surge of crime we have on our hands.”
Mr Davis also confirmed that Mr Sweeting was
working at the time of the incident.
“I was out of the country,” he said. “The other police aide was travelling with me as he elected to have him go instead, he was at home readying the vehicle to come and get us from the airport and he said he was cleaning the car to come to collect us and that is when the incident happened.”
“When I saw him he was ready to get out of bed to come, but he is in good spirits with respect to recovering from the surgeries he just had to correct the issues with his hand and stomach. I doubt he was targeted. His own explanation of the events speak against that.”
Investigations into the matter are continuing.
Comments
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 10 months ago
The "this proves none of us are safe" statement makes no sense, unless he had on his uniform or a sign saying "I'm Brave Davis' bodyguard". As far as the robbers were concerned he was just another easy target.
GQ 10 years, 10 months ago
Prior to last year's election the present government (PLP) was almost rejoicing in the amount of crime going on in The Bahamas to the point of erecting campaign posters critizing the FNM about it. Now that it is close to home when The DPM's bodyguard is shot and he is calling for the country to collectively fight this scourge. I agree that we must all fight crime in our land because crime does not belong to either party. I hope that the present government has learned their lesson and will in future not rejoice in someone else downfall. Happy to hear that the officer will be O.K. and I wish to thank all of the police who put their lives on the line each day.
TalRussell 10 years, 10 months ago
OK Comrades I know she is from the red shirts opposition camp but just maybe the DPM and the PM could have a nice convincing sit-down chat with the Commish of the Policeman's to get him to engage under contract the services of MP Loretta. Who better to slap the criminality intentions the living out hell out of but a few dangerous natives. I didn't bother including the minister for the policeman's Nottage, cause he has confessed to not bothering the Commish over criminal activities? May the good lord taking pity on the thugs that would dare to rob the sister. You say what? You want my what? Somebody be in for one mean hur'tin. And, if you thought nothing could outdo her House slap that was heard around Bahamaland's Archipelago?
banker 10 years, 10 months ago
I love reading your remarks for the entertainment value. The satire you write is in the mold of Jonathan Swift with Donald Trump overtones and Sarah Palin conviction coupled with the IQ of Neville Wisdom. Keep up the good work. I tweet your daily laughs.
concernedcitizen 10 years, 10 months ago
tell you what @banker apart from a bit obsessive about HAI ,,@Tals is one of the most pragmatic ,funny , and wise posters ,,,,,and also has a heart for the poor and less fortunate ,,
banker 10 years, 10 months ago
My Twitter followers are provided with a lot of mirth by the "Comrade" shtick and the Red Shirts thing, as well as the total ingestion of the Kool-Aid to the point of blindness. He adds a lot of local colour to this site.
concernedcitizen 10 years, 10 months ago
once in awhile tals, will get on PGC them ,,,,like BJ not talking to the commish,,,and the numbers mens
hj 10 years, 10 months ago
We know that Mr.Davis. The question is what will you do about it,besides talking of course.
thomas 10 years, 10 months ago
Were there two different incidents? I have heard 2 different accounts of this incident.
Bahamianpride 10 years, 10 months ago
Honesty such a beautiful thing....Protect yourself people
Nationalist 10 years, 10 months ago
Things that make u go 'ummmmmm'.
GQ 10 years, 10 months ago
Tal Russell displays his ignorance by making light of a serious matter where another person almost lost their life, well what more "Don't expect any more from a hog than a grunt!"
TK242 10 years, 10 months ago
Where are those billboards now that you were so adamant about keeping up?
TrueBahamian 10 years, 10 months ago
Me t'inks dey iz no crimezz, jus angry youts
TalRussell 10 years, 10 months ago
Regardless of what the opinions might be I really do enjoying reading all the posts on here. Not crazy when personalities are included as a form of personal attacks. Still I have never taken opposing text, as spelling out my epitaph. That's a good thing. Right?
positiveinput 10 years, 10 months ago
I see why nobody does go to the police with information. Within the article it states that the incident happen at a residence behind the Prince Charles Shopping Center, then it went on to say, he was at home readying the vehicle to come and get us. If this was just a random attempted robbery, knowing who was attacked, you just gave (if there are) criminals directions to this mans home who may want to really harm him or his family. Yet you expect normal citizens to confide in the police?
SP 10 years, 10 months ago
"Mr Davis said Bahamians, from all walks of life, need to come together to help in the fight against crime"
Shut the hell up Davis and you and your government get off your ass's and do what has to be done to get a handle on the crime situation.
What is so damn hard and allusive for the PLP & FNM to implement simple strategies i.e.:
1) Build low cost wooden low security cell blocks for prisoners incarcerated for stupidity such as being caught in possession of personal use drugs to make room in maximum security for serious offenders. Or better yet follow the rest of the world and make personal use drug possession a misdemeanor offense punishable with a minimal fine. Through out Hubert Ingrahams stupidity.
2) Close the bail revolving door. Change the bail act immediately and round up all the jackass's out on bail for serious offenses.
3) Carry out the law relating to death sentences for serious crimes. Give the middle finger to the Privy Counsel, and do what the hell needs to be done to get criminals attention. Put the animals to sleep! Works exceedingly well in Singapore, China and everywhere else.
4) Stop talking and start doing. We do not care to hear any more excuses. Get it done, or get the hell out of the way and allow those with the fortitude to do so.
Bahamianpride 10 years, 10 months ago
SP: Now thats a plan...
John 10 years, 10 months ago
A good step towards dealing with this crime situation is government's plan to have 20 supreme court justices on a rotation basis to help clear off the serious backlog of criminal cases. Police seem to be doing a fairly good job of finding, arresting and charging persons who commit serious offenses, but years pass before many of these persons are put on trial. In fact many of them, are themselves murder victims before they go to trial. But regardless of how much we improve our court system and no matter how effective our policing is, unless we identify, address and correct the problem that is causing our young men to turn anti-social and then criminal more than half the male population will be dead locked up or behind bars before we get the crime problem under control. Too many of our young men have been disenfranchised. They are of the opinion that the Bahamas is better for everyone else but them. Many find themselves being fathers and cannot care for their kids, and some cannot adequately contribute financially to a relationship or even while they are still living home with parents. And I know the common rebuff will be "well o they had the opportunity to get an education. Twelve years of free education and they came out with a "D" average." But when more than a large percentage of students are coming out with similar grades is there a need to review and revise the educational system and the grading criteria, rather than writing off so many, males especially as being, dumb, antisocial and criminal minded. Not all jobs require one to be a rocket scientist to be effective. If we have a large amount of persons with a "D" average, then maybe we need to create more jobs in which they can perform. When the crime rate is reduced then we can provide more assistance to those who can only perform menial jobs. This will be more productive than spending millions and millions on additional police cars and building more prison cells. We have alienated many of our young sons and daughters and they have become aliens to us. Bring our young children back home! Discredit the sayings that "Bahamians are uneducated, lazy, untrustworthy and generally do not want to work", and make them a genuine part of the growth and development of their country. This is their heritage and its time to cut the suit to fit the cloth. No other country is tossing their younger generation away in favor of others so why should the Bahamas be an exception?
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 10 months ago
Well said. The young men are indeed the key. The women will follow (natural truth). What Bahamianpride says below is instructive, what he had was hope, a belief or a vision that things could be better. Not everyone will be able to escape their physical circumstances as he did, they have to be lifted out of it mentally and spiritually. If we want to save the next generation, get them waaay before theyre in danger of graduating with a D average. Hope that better is possible has to be drilled in from grade 5 straight up to graduation. They have to believe it irrespective of where they are today. QC has an excellent programme built around the 7habits of highly effective individuals (no I didn't attend QC). They start teaching those principles in primary school, 6yr olds riddle them off. Can you imagine that child at 20? I'm not saying they'll be perfect, but that voice will never leave them and it will help to guide them over difficult choices. Now if that National Training Institute took on that task, reengineering minds in every primary school in the country, I would fully support it.
As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Bahamianpride 10 years, 10 months ago
John: I like the way you and Sp address the situation.. I was one of those young men who grew up in proverty in Nassau and one of the reason I stay away, too many bad memories.. Poverty stinks, enviroment & teaching does matter..it errodes self esteem & strange thoughts go through your mind to obtain resources.. Fortunate for me I grew to 6'8 & became good @ sports & was later placed with a U.S family...What a night & day experience to go from no, electricity, running water, or inside plumbing to my own room with attached bath in beautiful home & neigborhood with all the resources available. The values that were thought were different also the opportunity for success was there..thoughts of crime no longer existed. Offcourse u could give the same opportunity to others and they would screw it up but in general enviroment & opportunity makes a difference.. it was through good community involvement with coaches & programs that made a difference. When ur poor u don't think like people with resources, all u see is survival, they have u don't.. if u worried about food & resources who cares about morals, u have I don't & I'm tired of sufferring is the mentality so I'm going to take your shit & have some dignity...the problem is with changes in the enconomy & the increase in single parent households the struggles have increase along with the amount of have nots..
concernedcitizen 10 years, 10 months ago
when as a country you produce very low skilled workers faster than your economy can aborb them ,,ie jamaica ,haiti ,crime will continue to rise ..we are to the point where the civil service can no longer absorb our birthrate ..when single mother of 5 w/ 3 different baby daddys is the norm crime will increase ,,look to the countries that have stable birth rates ,or populations ,,crime is less ,,we are simply produceing more babies then our economy can absorb ,,then we have a failing educational system that produces near illeterates in a service economy ,,crime has to increase ,,,its pure mathmatics we have the examples through out our region ....
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