Second weekend in a row to see series of bloodshed
Police press conference today to provide updates on recent murders
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Five men were killed in three days following a series of shootings over another bloody weekend, according to police.
The latest incident, which claimed the lives of two men, occurred shortly after 6pm yesterday on Thompson Lane.
Police Press Liaison Superintendent Audley Peters told reporters the men were standing outside a residence when a black sedan pulled up and a lone gunman exited the vehicle and fired shots at them.
One of the men died on the scene and the other was taken to hospital but later succumbed to his injuries.
Peters could not confirm if the incident is connected to a murder that took place on the same street just over 24 hours ago.
“We won’t rule that out,” he said.
“We just have to put all the dots together and do the victimology and that will tell us who it is, what’s the reason and we will go from there.”
Dozens of police officers were on the scene, as well as members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s (RBPF) anti-gang unit.
Peters could not confirm if the incident was gang-related, though he noted it could be a possibility.
He added that the recent slate of murders has continued to keep officers on their toes, adding that there is a network of police officers conducting “intelligence-led canvasing” of communities.
Police reported that a group of men was standing outside a residence on Thompson Lane shortly after 2pm on Saturday when a jeep pulled up and two armed men exited the vehicle and fired shots into the crowd.
A father of four was shot and killed, with his children in the yard just feet away.
Later on Saturday night, a man believed to be in his early 50s was shot and killed shortly before 10pm on Cordeaux Avenue, west of Market Street, just minutes after arriving home.
Police said two vehicles pulled up behind the victim when he arrived at his residence and two men exited one of the vehicles, firing several shots at the man while he was still in the car.
The first incident of the weekend, which is being speculated as the beginning of a possible gang war, occurred after 5pm on Friday on 8th Street, the Grove.
Two men in their 30s were reportedly standing outside a turquoise-colored residence when two gunmen approached them in a car and began shooting.
One of the men was taken to hospital and the other succumbed to his injuries on the scene.
Relatives identified the victim as Vernal “Boss” Stubbs, a father of two and a relative of notorious convicted murderer Stephen “Die” Stubbs.
This weekend of murders comes just days after another spate of murders in the capital.
There were four fatal shootings and one fatal stabbing in the capital between Saturday and Monday last week.
The latest killings take the country’s murder count to 25 for the year, according to Eyewitness News’ records.
Peters said Deputy Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander will provide an update to the public on the murders and the progress of police investigations today.
The Free National Movement (FNM) has called the increase in murders on New Providence alarming, alleging that the country had begun to see a “downturn” in murders under the former FNM administration.