The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

PARENTS at St Francis Joseph Catholic Primary School regretted the shooting on school grounds, but most said the incident was not surprising given the “open season” state of the country.

The Tribune spoke to parents as they picked up students after school to gain their perspective on the shooting incident that targeted a parent of the school on Thursday.

“I’m not concerned because they weren’t interested in anyone else," said one mother of a fourth grader.

"The time has gone when the common person respected the house of God, or anywhere, it’s become an open season where if you do me something I’m gonna get you back.”

The mother continued: “Even in your home you’re not safe, if someone want to get in there, they’re going to get in there. The only thing you could do is just pray to God to keep you.”

Shortly before 3pm on Thursday, police received information that a man was shot in the school’s parking lot on Boyd Road. When officers arrived, they found the victim sitting in a red car with a gunshot wound in his hand.

The parent was taken to hospital where he was listed in stable condition yesterday. The victim’s car also had bullet holes in the driver’s side window and one of the rear windows.

The Catholic Board of Education confirmed the school opened as normal on Friday, adding that the police said the campus was secure and there was no imminent threat.

Another mother of two, said: “The only thing I had a problem with is that he (victim) ran into the principal’s office, what if the person (gunman) had run behind him and killed those people in there. That’s the only problem I had, I could understand he was looking for safety, yet at the same time he was putting someone else in danger.”

She continued: “The Bahamas is changing, it’s taken a long time but we pattern a lot of stuff off the States. A black man ain gonna go and kill a bunch of people, that’s a white person thing. But the time is gonna come when a black man if gonna get tired of the things that are going on and they just gonna take it and deal with whoever they gotta deal with and that’s what’s happening now.”

The mother said there were usually several police officers in the area during pickup times, collecting their children. She noted that when the incident occurred there were no officers in the school yard, adding that she was grateful the matter didn’t escalate.

“They’re not waiting for the law to take its course,” she continued, “they’re getting rid of the problem one time. As for safety issues, I don’t feel there are any issues like the child is not safe because he stayed out in the parking lot he didn’t come behind the wall, he could have followed the person, but he didn’t. Things are changing you have to teach your children to be observant and you yourself have to be observant.

Another parent expressed similar sentiments about the incident’s impact on campus safety.

“It could happen anywhere,” said a mother of three, “and it’s not about the children, it’s about us. It could happen anywhere, it’s about us, how we live our lives. If you live a clean life then you know they ain’t coming looking for you. “You gotta live a clean life because if they can’t get to you they coming through your children. It’s about what you do with your life and what you get involved in, we have to change. It starts with us.”