This confirms that there needs to be more intervention at the junior and high school levels. There needs to be more communication and cooperation between parents, the school administrators and the police. This is just one in many who lost his life because he was being bullied and harassed by gangs. And once they target a young boy their assault is brutal and relentless. Sometimes the boys see the only way out as joining the gang or resisting and getting killed, just like how this young boy lost his life. The number of young boys who had to leave school or that are being forced to join gangs is not small. There are many who have quit school because they were being beat up and pressured while in school or after school was let out. Parents can confirm they had sons come home from school without shoes (clarks) belts and with stories of having their lunch money taken daily. The school boys may be doing the harassing in school but they have the support of older gang members on the outside. And once the 'target' in school does not cooperate they are reported to the older gang members and some will end up like this young man. So the police may need to put task forces in the schools to uncover the gang members and either weed them out or deal with them accordingly. Then trace the gangs back to the leaders andput them away, else they will continue to kill the young men.

"*My son said ‘Daddy, I don’t mind going to school you know, I go to school to learn, I just don’t want to fight every day, I am tired of fighting*"

I'm convinced some of these boys want out. But if you have to literally fight for your life everyday, on the way to school, in school, on the way home and at home, how do you get out? They need a solution that's outside of this jungle.

"*hospital right there and we got tired of waiting on the ambulance because he was still breathing and when we went to try lift him a big fight started between the police and my cousin and then they lock them up, but I mean if the hospital right there and they taking 20 minutes to respond why can’t we carry him?*"

That shouldn't happen. The police should know that loved ones may become unreasonable at times like these. Put them in the squad car or something but there's no need to place them in jail when it's clear they're fighting (figuratively) to save their relatives life.

So very sad and so very sick............

This case shows a huge problem in MOE. . .what a shame!

Why is it the MOE's fault if the kid is in a gang and goes to school near gang rivals? What ever happened to personal responsibility -- each person is responsible for their own behaviour? The euphemism "my son wasn't perfect" speaks volumes. What do you have to do, to goad someone to pump your body full of bullets? If this is the way that 15 year olds settle scores, then we are finished as a civilised country. It is a war zone out there.

It's not MOE's fault. The boy made a decision to join a gang and there were consequences to that decision. From the father's words I get the impression he wanted out but couldn't get out. He had to be violent to stay alive.

Would be good if we had a boarding school for these boys. Like a Google campus. Someplace where their minds are 100% occupied with big things, space, fast cars, computers, robotics, they're taught etiquette, taking care of animals, taught to dream. Could fights break out at that school, sure, plan for it and prevent it.

My theory is once they see how big the world is, how small the things are that they're fighting over, they're given their basic needs, food, clothing and shelter, an opportunity for a future with good education, etc, the conflicts will be reduced drastically.

This boy is 15 ......... He has a daddy who seems to be active in his life ...... and he still could not beak the vicious cycle of gangs and school violence ........ MOE should not be blamed for this, although it is one of the social partners ...... Did the parents, principals, guidance counselors, pastors, police etc. have a full and honest understanding of this boy's troubles???????

If the gangs single you out, they'll get you. We have police at all schools now and trouble is kicked out.

I usually threaten my children with been send to a government school if they under-perform. That's no longer a viable threat.

The police have data that indicate that at least 42% of murders are gang related. Another 20% of so of killings stem from gang related murders: retaliation killings, drug turf war killing, etc., Yet very little is being done to attack and stamp out these gangs. Now apparently the gangs are becoming more aggressive and are targeting and attacking "softer targets." they are attacking school boys as well as friends and family members of gang members, mostly in retaliation shootings. So eliminating the gangs can reduce murder by more than 50%. In Indonesia little kids, boys and girls go hunting for snakes armed only with sticks and sometimes maybe a grub hoe and a machete. The intent is to bring the snakes back alive. But the young children are taught to concentrate on the head. Capture the head and hold on to it. And no matter how big the snake is or whatever else it does you have it captured as long as you continue to hold on to the snake's head. No matter how big the snake, find its head and keep a firm hold on it. And these little children return with snakes two and three times as long as they are, without getting any injuries to themselves. And that is the approach this country needs to take towards gangs. Find the leaders and cut the heads off, by whatever means necessary. Everyone in the country knows who at least one gang leader is. So the police must concentrate specifically on them. Arrest them for even the slightest infraction . As fast as they come out of jail send them back. Make it impossible for them to operate. Make them the despised ones in the community, to the point that they are scorned or rejected. Then watch the gangs fall off and the murders decrease to near nil.

Disgraceful!

With commitment to change this trend could change, it can happen. It wouldn't be easy. One thing that bothers me is this father is 55, this is a man that has had a hard life. You can tell by his eyes. This is really sad, and I think unnecessary. The Bahamas could be anything that you guys wanted it to be, but corruption has put the Islands in hardship. The crime and the quality of lives could be so different, but this is how government controls us. If you have no money, what can you do? I suspect that our government did this about 10 years ago when our economy hit rock bottom and tons of people loss their homes and money. The government gave tons of people mortgages they could not afford. They knew what they were doing. Then when the economy fell everyone loss their savings in stocks and 401K's. Americans had become too successful, too many people had money. They wiped that out over night. One day you might of had 200,000 in your stocks or retirement savings and overnight it was wiped out. People loss everything and I think it was strategically created to control us.

***The TRIBUNE'S*** Headline this morning is a national disgrace! Like pouring more fuel on a fire that is already dangerously out-of-control!

Well ........... someone has to address it and not by more hot air from an out-of-touch Minister of Education ....... Except he intends to re-open YEAST.