New Providence reels from bloody 3 days with 3 people fatally shot

New Providence was plagued with bloodshed for three days consecutively as three men were killed in the space of hours, totaling 92 people murdered for the year.

It is not known if these incidents were connected or are retaliatory attacks.

Thursday

Police reported that a man was killed on Blue Hill Road, near Carmichael Road, in the vicinity of a wash house. Police have not officially identified him but say he is believed to be in his mid 20’s

Police say a light-colored Japanese vehicle approached the victim, two of the suspects exited, shot the man multiple times, and then fled in an easterly direction onto Malcolm Road.

The unknown victim was the 92nd murder for the year, according to police records.

Wednesday

A man affectionately called ‘CJ’ became the country’s 91st murder victim for the year when two men approached him as he sat in the open vicinity of a residence after 4:45 pm.

He was shot multiple times in the upper body when police found him after being alerted by police control.

Tuesday

Carlos Joseph was killed in front of his home after 3 pm as he held his eight-month-old child. Joseph was returning home with the two children after a school pickup, when an assailant, driving a white Japanese vehicle, confronted and shot him multiple times.

The children were unharmed.

His murder was marked #90 for the year.

A surge in murders

Statistically, the murder rate is higher for this year when compared to 2023. In October 2023, there were 74 murders. For the first week of October 2024, the murder count already stands at 92.

What Fred Mitchell said

On Wednesday, while in the House of Assembly, the Opposition lamented the state of crime in the country, insisting that the government implement a plan to fight violence in the country. But Fred Mitchell, Fox Hill’s MP and party chairman, insisted that  the government is taking the issue seriously as he highlighted “all the social programmes that have been put in place since 2021 (when the government was elected).”

“I don’t want the public to be left with the impression that we think this is a joke. “Every day, we are just as bothered as you are about this crime situation. I’ve asked you privately, what more is it you expect us to do?” Mitchell said.

“How can we in this small society not be serious about crime issues when it affects all of us, all of our families, our friends who are dying?

“These young kids who should be living until they’re 70 years of age, killing one another for what reason? We don’t know.”