The Tribune

By Ava Turnquest

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was found unresponsive with injuries to his body near an abandoned building on Hampton Street on Friday night.

He was found hours after another man died from his injuries and two others were shot during an incident at a Malcolm Road nightclub earlier on Friday.

The country’s murder count stands at 91 for the year, according to The Tribune’s records. The killing Friday night marked the fifth in a week.

In the first incident, police responded to reports of shots being fired at the “5-Star” Nightclub off East Street shortly after 2am. According to reports, an argument outside of the club had escalated, resulting in the three men being shot. One died in hospital and the other two men are listed in serious, but stable condition.

In the second incident, a victim was found in the area of Hampton Street, Stapleton Gardens shortly after 8pm on Friday.

“Officers discovered the man with injuries to his body,” read the police report. “Paramedics were called to the scene, attempted to revive the victim, but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene.”

The killings come on the heels of last Wednesday’s “be careful with the company you keep,” warning by Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson.

Commissioner Ferguson at the time insisted that despite recent flurry of criminal activity, residents should go out and have fun this Christmas season because they will not be targeted.

He reiterated this call during a walkabout of downtown Bay Street on Friday. “These murders are not gang violence,” he said. 

“These are incidents where you find persons who have . . . conflict that cannot be resolved and not in a gang related issue. They are really isolated cases.”

When asked whether he believed the country was “relatively safe,” Commissioner Ferguson replied: “I don’t need to believe that, I know The Bahamas is relatively safe. I am a well-travelled person and those of us who are well traveled and recognise what goes on around the world,” He added: “The issue of whether there is a fear or any crime is a real issue, and there are things we will continue to work at. There are things the citizens have to also work at.”

Overall, police continue to assert that general crime statistics are trending down. 

Statistics shared on Wednesday showed there were 89 murders from January 1 to December 18, a decrease from last year’s 122 murders in the same time period, according to police.

Armed robbery incidents declined 16 percent, from 547 to 460 during the same time period while reports of stolen vehicles declined 20 percent, from 450 to 361.

The number of shootings also declined, from 110 to 67, a difference of 39 percent.