Turks and Caicos Hit With More Murders Despite the Help of Bahamas Police

Despite a force bolstered with officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Turks and Caicos continue to grapple with crime, including a triple murder in which a 3-year-old boy was killed.

The British territory reached out to the Bahamas for assistance when 15 killings in five weeks rocked the British Territory. But has much improved since the arrival of 24 Bahamian police officers?

The latest murders occurred early Tuesday morning when a man, woman and child were discovered in a car in the Dock Yard area. The fourth victim, a 7-year-old girl who survived the attack, was found bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound. She is receiving medical care for her injuries.

Turks and Caicos Commissioner of Police Trevor Botting said his team and officers from the Bahamas and UK are investigating the “vicious, barbaric act” committed by the “heartless” criminals.

“They do not care about life,” he said.

On Monday, a man was found dead in the area of Parker’s Yard, Blue Hills, killed by gunfire.

And Sunday, a woman was shot while driving her vehicle in Millenium Heights, Blue Hills. Another vehicle stopped her and shot into her car. She was treated for a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

Last week Saturday, another man was shot in the Dock Yard area. He survived the gun attack and was treated for the injuries.

And last Wednesday, one man died on the scene where he and another man were found bleeding profusely suffering from gunshot wounds in the vicinity of James Stubbs, Leeward Highway. The surviving victim sustained injuries to the left side of his body.

In October when a US tourist was killed while in a vehicle returning from an excursion, Botting summed it up that the killings were connected to an ongoing gang feud.

As the British territory’s murder rate spirals out of control, Botting met with Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander on Saturday in the Bahamas, to further deepen relations with the RBPF, he said.

Turks and Caicos’ murder count now stands at 32 for the year.

Photo credit: TCIPF