March saw 16 killings alone, five short of deadliest month on record
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Continuing the upward trend observed late last year, murders for the first quarter of this year have once again sharply risen compared to the same period the year prior, Eyewitness News can confirm.
There were 28 murders recorded between January 1, 2021 and March 31, 2021 — 24 on New Providence, two on Abaco, one on Grand Bahama and one on Eleuthera.
There have been 34 murders for the year thus far – representing a 21 percent increase in murders year-over-year.
Of the total murders for the year so far, there were 31 on New Providence, two on Grand Bahama and one on Abaco.
March has been the bloodiest month to date with 16 recording killings.
The most murders ever recorded in a single month was 21 in May 2012.
The highest number of murders in a single month previously stood at 20, which was recorded in July 2011.
Gang violence and the emergence of new, organized gangs in the Grove area have largely been attributed for the bloodshed.
There were 11 murders in January, four in February, and three so far this month.
In the first three months of 2020, just before the impact of the global pandemic, there were 18 murders, nearly half the murders recorded this year so far.
Since Sunday, there have been five killings.
The latest murder occurred last night.
A man was shot dead in Hollywood Subdivision off Cowpen Road around 10pm.
According to police, the victim was visiting a friend in the area when two armed men approached him and shot him.
Police said they were following significant leads on the shooting.
Two men were killed hours apart on New Providence.
According to police, officers responded to reports of gunshots on Second Street and Poinciana Avenue and found a man lying on Cynthia Mother Pratt Park with gunshot wounds.
He died on the scene.
Police said the victim, whose identity has not been released, was on the park watching a basketball game around 10pm when a man armed with a gun approached him and shot him several times.
No others were injured in the shooting.
Shortly before midnight, officers responding to another shooting on Sutton Street, off Kemp Road, found a man with gunshot wounds slumped outside the front door of a residence.
On Monday, a man was shot dead on Malcolm Road around 10pm.
On Sunday, a man in his mid-20s was shot and killed while at a barbershop.
Police said the was a patron of the shop sometime before 4pm when an armed man walked in and shot at him.
The barbershop was located on the second floor of a commercial building.
To combat the slate of violent crimes and shootings stemming from gang activity, police have increased saturation patrols and specialized police operations.
The violence has also spilled into schools with the recent stabbing of a student at AF Adderley Junior High School.
The stabbing, although nonfatal, promoted the Ministry of Education to place officers back in schools in hopes of creating safer campus environments, as educators and officials express concerns about weapons being brought onto school campuses from their perimeters.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander said on January 7 this year that the police force must disrupt gang activities throughout the nation to prevent retaliations and turf wars from getting “out of hand”.
At the time, there had been just two murders for the year.
Police Commissioner Paul Rolle and Deputy Commissioner Clayton Fernander are expected to address the media at the Office of the Prime Minister today.
There was a total of 73 murders in 2020 — the lowest on record in 15 years.
There were 95 murders in 2019, a four percent increase over the 91 murders in 2018 — the lowest in almost a decade at that point.
There were a total of 119 murders last year, compared to the 73 recorded the year prior — a 63 percent increase.
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