Two shot dead in Abaco, Eleuthera

Two shot dead in Abaco, Eleuthera

61 murders recorded for 2019; nearly on par with count this time last year

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A man was shot dead at a residence in Abaco on Saturday while another was murdered in Eleuthera, according to authorities.

Officers responding to reports of gunshots on Breadfruit Street, Marsh Harbour around 3 a.m., found a man in a home with multiple gunshot wounds.

Another man in the home was shot in the leg, police said.

Police said preliminary investigations revealed that an armed man entered the home and shot both victims.

The identity of the deceased was not released.

Authorities appealed for anyone with information on the fatal shooting to contact police.

Police also reported that a gunman approached three men sitting outside a residence in the James Cistern settlement around 9 p.m. and began shooting.

One of the men were shot dead. The two others were not injured, police said.

The incidents pushed the country’s murder count to 61 for 2019.

The killings also marked the eighth and ninth murders in The Bahamas this month, surpassing the six murders recorded in August 2018.

The spate of killings this month has placed the murder count for 2019 just shy on being on par with the number of killings recorded last year.

As of August 28, 2018, there were 63 murders.

This means murders are down 3 per cent period-over-period.

At the end of January, murders were down 75 per cent compared to January 2018.

Murders were down 26 per cent for the first four months of the year compared to 2018.

As the country reached the halfway mark, murders were down 14 per cent.

There were 12 murders in January 2018, compared to the three murders in January 2019.

Last year, ended with 91 murders, the lowest on record since 2009 when 85 murders were recorded.

While addressing the Free National Movement’s Women’s Association yesterday, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said while his administration has reduced crime in the last two years in line with its mandate, there is a long way to go.

He said the pain and suffering of victims should fuel a continued, relentless and aggressive front against crime.

“We promised to reduce crime,” the prime minister said.

“Though previous governments, including the last PLP government promised to reduce crime and murder, it is this FNM administration that has reduced crime over the last two years. But, we still have more work to do to make The Bahamas safer and to secure a better future for all. The pain and suffering of the victims of crime must continue to propel us all to relentlessly and aggressively combat crime and violence.”

About Royston Jones Jr.

Royston Jones Jr. is a senior digital reporter and occasional TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. Since joining Eyewitness News as a digital reporter in 2018, he has done both digital and broadcast reporting, notably providing the electoral analysis for Eyewitness News’ inaugural election night coverage, “Decision Now 2021”.