Police identify triple murder victims in targeted shooting—Here’s what we know
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The Royal Bahamas Police Force has identified three victims killed tragically in Fox Hill on Monday—an incident that officials are investigating as retaliatory killing, but gunmen missed their target.
Big story
The killing represents one of the country’s deadliest single murder incidents. Fox Hill is no stranger to the killings of multiple victims at once. In 2013, four people were killed after a drive-by shooting in the area which left others injured when gunmen fired into a crowd.
Key facts
Before 4 pm on Monday, three gunmen with high-powered weapons shot at men sitting on a property by a roadside garage.
Three men were killed whom police identified as Anthony Farland, 36, of Nassau Village; Frederick Storr, 29, of For Fincastle and Christopher Strachan, 34 of Lady Slipper Avenue.
A man on bail for murder, who was the intended target, escaped and was immediately taken into police custody.
Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander revealed that the man was one of 178 others on bail for murder.
What Prime Minister Philip Davis said
Prime Minister Philip Davis described the numbers out on bail for murder as “overwhelming.”
“That’s only what’s…already in the system. Every so often, more are added to that number.
The system can only accommodate so many. These trials are taking more than two and three months–so if you have 170 trials that are outstanding, what does that mean?
“How many months? That’s almost 10 years to clean it up. So we are looking at initiatives to try to respond to the fact that trials are not happening quick enough and the courts are overwhelmed.”
The big number
The murder count quickly swelled to 102, leaving many to worry about the year’s end, which seems unabated since the opening of the year.
Chief critic
Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Michael Pintard said the government must speed up trials and work urgently to revoke bail in cases where a suspect is a clear danger to others.
“It takes too long to go to trial in serious cases, especially for murder. Extraordinary measures are needed to make sure justice is served quickly so Bahamians can start to trust the system again. Nearly 200 accused murderers are out on bail—that’s a sign of a broken system.
“The government appears lost, unable to act alone or work with community partners to stop the violence that’s devastating our communities. Their lack of coordination or urgency to address these tragedies is only fueling fear and anxiety about what may happen tomorrow.
“This is not the time for paralysis. Now is the time for action.”
What’s not known
It’s not known if the man on bail who was the intended target will be placed in protective custody and when he is expected to stand trial for allegations against him.
Featured Photo: Tribune
