By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AMID a spate of gun violence and fears of a gang war, National Security Minister Marvin Dames expressed confidence that the police force can maintain law and order.

Asked by a reporter about concerns of a “gang war” in retaliation to the shooting death of a man killed off Kemp Road last week, Mr Dames said: “I’m certain the commissioner of police and his officers have that or anything else related to (those concerns) in hand.

“Listen, this is the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) is charged with the business of maintaining law and order and they take that very seriously.

“The police have a very robust intelligence arm. They have tremendous response capability and I have no concern about their ability to maintain law and order in this country.”

His statements came as a surveillance video showing masked gunmen running into a home while firing their weapons made the rounds on social media yesterday.

In the beginning of the video, two men run into the home blazing with gunfire. Seconds later, one of the assailants leaves the house and heads into the street, calling for his accomplice to leave. The gunman is then joined by two other masked men outside the home before the group escapes.

The home in the video appears to be the Coopers Terrace residence off Kemp Road where Alfred “Halfman” Bastian Jr was shot dead on Thursday, December 3. The video was recorded by someone watching the footage on a computer monitor that bore the date December 4.

Police spokespersons could not say if the video showed the murder in question nor would they confirm social media claims that four men had been arrested for the crime.

According to police, initial reports indicated that a group of people were gathered in front of the residence when a small vehicle pulled up and four men got out of the vehicle armed with firearms.

“The assailants discharged the weapons in the direction of the group injuring the male who succumbed on (the) scene,” police reported.