By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

COMMUNITY youth leader Pastor Darrin Rolle has expressed grave concerns over the spate of shooting deaths and gang-related violence in Grand Bahama and in New Providence.

“As a man who works with young men in society, I am very appalled about what is going in our society,” Pastor Rolle said yesterday.

Pastor Rolle, leader of the Falcon’s Boys Club, said the shootings over the past several weeks in Grand Bahama and the nation seems to be gang-related and retaliation-related.

On Christmas Day, a young man was found shot dead in a vehicle at a local nightspot in Freeport. An hour before that incident, two other men were shot in West End.

On December 3, a teen was shot dead in the Pinder’s Point area. And a week before that murder, a young man was killed and another was injured during a shooting in Eight Mile Rock.

Mr Rolle said there is a proliferation of guns in The Bahamas. “It seems like everyone has a gun or has access to a gun; everyone wants to get a gun.”

He said guns are used for initiation by gangs and that some young men want to be seen as hitmen.

“I saw a video where some young men were at a gas station and they were fighting at a private business and I saw an elderly woman pull the door in because they were shooting; they had no respect and something is causing these young men to lose respect,” he said.

Mr Rolle said the young must learn how to resolve their conflicts without violence and guns.

“We tend to say parents are not training their children. I don’t think that parents or the church have failed. Those young men are 15, 16, 17, 18, and 20 years old and they know what is right from wrong. They need to make the right decisions,” he said.

Mr Rolle said in order to address this problem, more men must become involved in the mentoring of their sons and other young men.

“Government can’t do it alone, but the government must partner with individuals who are doing positive things in society and who are concerned – not individuals who are doing it because they are politically aligned,” he said.

He said the Falcons Boys Club is committed to the development of young men. He also commended other young leaders such as Carlos Reid and Dudley Seide, who are also mentoring young men.

Mr Rolle said the Falcons Boys Club plans to develop and launch a programme on radio and television in February to get more men in the community involved with shaping young men.

He said the Ministry of Education and Police must be proactive in reaching out to young men in the schools.

“We need leaders who are willing to get involved and offer their expertise and knowledge to mould our young men,” he said.