The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A MAN from Grand Bahama was shot dead by police on Saturday after allegedly confronting officers with a cutlass.

Police said they were responding to a complaint in the Pinedale area of Eight Mile Rock when they encountered the armed man.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Advarado Dames said officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, but it escalated.

He said the man “made an aggressive move” towards officers, who, in fear for their lives, discharged a single shot, fatally wounding him.

The victim was identified as area resident Glenford Williams, believed to be in his early 60s.

Bishop Barry Morris, a family friend, said he was nearby when he was alerted to the shooting by two distressed women who told him a man had been shot.

He said he later saw Williams lying in the street with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the chest and the handle of a cutlass still in his hand.

“I know the family personally, having grown up in the area and I went to his mother who was in distress at this time and just embraced her and prayer with her,” he told The Tribune on the scene.

He described the victim as someone who appeared to be mentally challenged.

“I’ve known him all my life,” Bishop Moss said. “Anyone who lives in this community would have come into contact with him. Sometimes, he could’ve been for better or worse a little aggressive.”

ACP Dames said he could not confirm the man’s mental state, adding that investigators are still in the early stages.

“We want to ensure the members of the public that we will continue to remain transparent and that a thorough investigation would be held and this matter will be forwarded to His Majesty’s Coroner for an outcome,” he added.

This latest incident marks the country’s fourth police involved shooting for the year, according to The Tribune’s records.