NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Bahamas Christian Council President Bishop Delton Fernander says that Bahamians must take note of the recent spate of murders and seriously question the direction the country is headed, as he denounced what he described as the “scourge” of domestic violence, murder and rape griping the nation.
His comments came in the wake of another bloody weekend in the country, with three men being gunned down on Saturday, bringing the number of homicides recorded just in the past week to five.
“We are concerned about the recent uptick in murders taking place in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. We take notice and are particularly concerned about the number women that are being killed in the most recent murders that have taken place in our country,” said Fernander.
“More and more we need the love of Christ to be shared in our society. It’s a time of reflection and a time for turning to God, where we can call on his name. We have been taught as the church that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal and as always the church will be engaging in the tools that God has given us,” he continued.
“We will break and pause for prayers to cover our land once again so that the scourge of murder, the scourge of domestic violence and rape and all that is taking place in society, we will put it in God’s hand.”
According to police, at 2:24 am this past Saturday officers attached to the Mobile Division conducted a routine traffic stop at the junction of Marathon and Robinson Road. While doing so, sounds of gunshots emanated from the Solomon’s Super Center parking lot. As a result the officers responded and observed several vehicles within the area. The officers reportedly then pursued occupants of a dark-colored Japanese vehicle travelling east along Solomon’s parking lot, who were able to successfully evade them. After returning to the scene, the observed a parked silver Nissan Skyline with two men inside who had been shot to death.
Several hours later police were called to the scene of another homicide, where the victim was said to be a 49-year-old Jamaican man. According to reports, sometime around 9:43 am the victim arrived at a residence situated in the area of Eneas Avenue, Stapledon Gardens when the occupants of a brown Nissan Cube, drove up and shot him multiple times.
Those incidents followed the murder of a 19-year-old Sandilands village man who was killed on Sea Breeze Lane Thursday night and the murder of South Beach resident Yinka Maria Strachan who was found dead in the South Beach Canal last Wednesday.
It will be fine if we can collectively explore on the power of love in solving problems and differences than the pursuit of anger and vengeance. And if we embrace the law loosely the result will be frequent killings in our streets and country. Capital punishment is a good tool for governance where civilization is at stake.
With due respect honorable leaders, how are the guns entering our country and what efforts are being made to stem the flow of guns over these many years?