It Is always a great and tragic loss when anyone looses their life or a loved one,especially in an act of violence.
BUT until those in authority get to understand that they are fighting a battle of spiritual warfare, and not just against flesh and blood, the body count will continue to climb. Many of the young men in this country have been programmed, (by movies, by video games and by music especially rap and the infiltration of gangs in this country) that it is the culture to 'be strapped and stay strapped'. If anyone crosses your line you take them out COLD! or you pay stomone to do it. ANd when one of your guys go down you take out someone else's 'solja' as payment. ANd so bullets continue to fly and bodies, many innocent, continue to fall, even to the point where they are piling up in the morgue!
WHAT WE NEED TO DO:
First we have to change the mindset of the young men in this country. Get them out of the gang and guns mentality and back into society.
We NEED To go on an intensive search and discovery program to find out how gund are getting into this country and who is responsible. These persns need to be dealt with severely, first offense 5-10 years, second offence 20 years and third offensel , life in prision..no exceptions!
We Need to give a grace perion for everyone in possessionof guns and/or armunition (illegal) to get rid of it. Then do a massive sweep of this island. (just like the swoop down on the web shops. Get the assistance of the defence force and go into those hotsopt communities and lock them down for an entire day and do a yard to yard, house to house, vehicle to vehicl search for weapons. Anyone found in possession of illegal weapons must go to the gun courts and face swift justice.
We Need to fix the system where, as it is now, persons can shoot down and kill someone, or a number of persons, in cold blood and avoid justice, or at least does not appear to recieve punishment.
MURDERERS who are caught and charged should be brought before the courts in a swift and timely manner, and in no case should it take more than18 months for a murder trial to take place. Additional courts should be set up to clear out all backlogged murder, rape and violent criminal matters. NO one facing a murder charge should be granted bail, unless he has been in jail for more than FIVE years and NO one having more than one murder charge against them should ever be granted bail. In fact their matters should be fast tracked and dealt within the shortest time possible.

IF and since it appears that we do not intend to carry out the death penalty, those who recieve life sentences for murder must be made to feel the brunt of their punishment. Something also needs to be done with the 100 plus criminals that are deported here from the US every year. Many are of Haitian decent with no status here and their loyalty is to no one. They come here with a vengence and some as seasoned criminals, anxious to pass their skills on to anyone willing to learn.
Right now gang leaders and murderers appear as heroes in this country and if not dealt with they will be the last men left standing. That is how serious this thing is!
Finally, well not finally, but my final suggestion for now, we need to put a program in place in the junior high schools and the senior high schools to de-program these young men who are being programmed (called channelling) by rap music, video games, music and even the lfiestyles of some of the people they idolize, lil wayne..young money..fifty cent..we are being attacked on all fronts and right now it appears that we (BAHAMIANS)are losing the battle!

I have been made to understand that if a person tells the US they were born in the Bahamas that they send them here. There are no checks and balances to confirm this if a person makes this claim and so a person born in Haiti, Jamaica and elsewhere can end up in the
Bahamas. The Bahamas most likely does not know about he deportations until after the persons get here.

As tragic as any loss of life is, and I am not trying to downplay this one at all, but I do find it encouraging that the grandfather of this woman is willing to tell it like it is. Not that his grandaughter was the sweetest thing to walk the earth, totally innocent victim of a crime, etc, etc, etc. He comes right out and says she hangs with a bad crowd, it is the nature of that neighbourhood and generation. All too often the parents and relatives of someone you KNOW, flat out was doing some wrong yet when they get caught or even worse killed, that child is a saint. Take some responsibility people. I'm glad to see this grandfather did not shy away from calling it what it was.

@1voice. Actually you have been misinformed. The actual process is that when an order for deportation is made, the U.S. State Department in the particular State sends official inquiry to the country to which the individual says he is a citizen of, requesting confirmation that the individual is in fact a citizen. In the case of The Bahamas, this inquiry goes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs then makes inquiries of the Passport Office and the Registrar General's Department to confirm citizenship and the particulars of that citizenship. Based on the information that Foreign Affairs receives, it then confirms the status of the individual with the U.S.State Department. If the individual is in fact a citizen of The Bahamas, then he is deported to The Bahamas. If he is deported because of immigration violations, the Police generally does not receive notification. But, if he is a criminal deportee, the Police receives the requisite notification. That is the process.