SHOOTOUT: Officers strike to take out gunman after he opened fire on them

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

POLICE killed a man on Saturday after he allegedly assaulted an elderly lady and shot a young man who followed him.

A video from a witness to the incident shows at least three police officers on the roof of a house shooting down at the suspect as bystanders assembled in the area. At least 19 shots are fired in the clip.

A bystander in the video is heard saying “He dead,” adding at one point: “Ya don’t never fire at the man.”

Chief Superintendent of Police Shanta Knowles, the officer in charge of the Central Detective Unit, told reporters on the scene that police arrived in the community of Sunshine Park shortly after 3pm Saturday after receiving information that an elderly woman at the Farmer’s Market on Blue Hill Road was approached by a man who assaulted her and left the area.

“Our information is that a group of persons from the community followed this man and approached him. He in turn, being armed with a shotgun, fired a shot at one of them and then ran into an abandoned building which is just behind me,” she said.

“Officers responded and entered the property where gunfire was exchanged between that man and the officers, resulting in that man being fatally wounded.”

Chief Superintendent Knowles said the young man who was shot is in stable condition at the hospital. She said none of the officers was injured during the incident and the elderly woman who was allegedly attacked is nursing minor injuries.

She said three illegal weapons were uncovered from the scene. She added that Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson Pratt, the acting coroner, visited the scene.

The Tribune encountered at least two visibly shaken family members of the deceased when this newspaper visited the scene on Moonshine Road yesterday.

A neighbour across the street brought water to the family and said the family is overcome with grief at the incident. The family declined to talk about what happened.

In March, National Security Minister Marvin Dames warned young men who may feel driven to shoot at police to reconsider, saying doing so would be “at their own peril.”

Eleven people were killed last year in police involved shootings, according to Royal Bahamas Police Force statistics.

Overall, there were 20 incidents of police involved shootings in 2020, resulting in 11 deaths and 11 non-fatal injuries.

Comments

TalRussell says...

The time that passes in between the use of **brute physical force** by the Constabulary ** is too close together and reoccurring.
And, what about all incidents when compared to members of the constabulary **who have **never been fired?**
And, what got say about all the brutely ugly incidents that **never got exposed to daylight,** yes?

Posted 12 June 2021, 6:36 p.m. Suggest removal

tribanon says...

And you would be saying the same thing about our police force officers if the deceased armed criminal had killed both the woman he assaulted and the man he shot. Get a real life!

Posted 14 June 2021, 9:19 a.m. Suggest removal

John says...

The police under the direction of Marvin Dames killing more BAHAMIANS than Covid-19. Time to take his badge!!!

Posted 12 June 2021, 9:02 p.m. Suggest removal

tribanon says...

Why don't you join the police force and put your own life at risk every day while doing your sworn duty to try protect the public from the likes of armed criminals? Your mouth is bigger than your brain.

Posted 14 June 2021, 9:25 a.m. Suggest removal

DonAnthony says...

Are there any justified police shootings to you? It appears not.

Posted 14 June 2021, 11:01 a.m. Suggest removal

bahamianson says...

Those police are racist. They hate black people.

Posted 12 June 2021, 10:27 p.m. Suggest removal

John says...

No the country that train and manage them hate Black people ( see they as a threat) and has been killing them for decades. Our police are blind to the bigger picture (and dumb)

Posted 13 June 2021, 8:37 a.m. Suggest removal

tribanon says...

You obviously take great joy in portraying all police as evil and would love nothing more than to see our country without a police force, overwhelmed with crime and in a complete state of anarchy.

Posted 14 June 2021, 9:29 a.m. Suggest removal

John says...

God said ‘I will place a ruler on the earth.’ And the angels replied , ‘there will be lots of bloodshed’. And God said, ‘I know what ye know not.’ And so the ruler was placed on the earth and given 6,000 years to rule. And as that 6,000 years draws to an end, he will be judged. He must give account fir all the misery and bloodshed and mayhem he caused on the earth. To the other races and even to his own. So now he is afraid.

Posted 13 June 2021, 8:50 a.m. Suggest removal

C2B says...

What complete nonsense.

Posted 13 June 2021, 11:06 a.m. Suggest removal

tribanon says...

Couldn't agree more....nothing but total nonsense from @John.

Posted 14 June 2021, 9:30 a.m. Suggest removal

John says...

More young Black men are dying in their own neighborhoods and communities than the numbers of soldiers that died in any major war. This is sad.

Posted 13 June 2021, 8:55 a.m. Suggest removal

tribanon says...

So says @John who is Chairman of the New Providence Chapter of HAP, i.e. Hate All Police. lol

Posted 14 June 2021, 9:39 a.m. Suggest removal

John says...

And when does the Bible say these killings will end?

Posted 13 June 2021, 9:03 a.m. Suggest removal

tribanon says...

It will end with the police force rightfully confronting and, if need be, killing the last armed criminal in the Bahamas who foolishly fires his illegal weapon at any innocent member of the public or at any police officer doing his or her duty to protect innocent members of the public. Do you have a problem with that @John? lol

Posted 14 June 2021, 9:46 a.m. Suggest removal

John says...

The LORD will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit-- a wife who married young, only to be rejected," says your God.
7
"For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
8
In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the LORD your Redeemer.
9
"To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again.
10
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
11
"O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, [1] your foundations with sapphires. [2]
12
I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones.
13
All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children's peace.
14
In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you.
15
If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you.
16
"See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc;
17
no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD.

Posted 13 June 2021, 9:10 a.m. Suggest removal

stislez says...

The Bible always has the answer right............smh......bro it's 2021 and you still believe in the book the white people give our people....smh.......u still aint gone do your research and found out about King James and the puritans....smh......you still believe a people who slaughter your ancestors gone give you a book to save your life from some damnation.....smh.....did you forget about the good ship jesus........smh......what about the fact the pope apologized for the church using the bible to inflict torture on the black nation, apologized for using the bible as a control mechanism over the black nation.....smh......Our Christian country with over 1900 million churches LMFAO!

Posted 13 June 2021, 10 a.m. Suggest removal

Young_Lion says...

Peace to you.

"The Bible began to be written 3500 years ago..." and the last book was written "between AD 50 and AD 100."

It wasn't "given to us by the white man". It came to us from the Hebrews and early Church.

It was merely translated from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek into English.

The translators had no part in writing it, they merely put it in another language.

You can read the book entitled The Battle for the Bible by David Marshall for more information.

This isn't a race issue it is a moral issue since blacks were sold into slavery by their own black people.

What would lead them to exploit their own race? Sin. Sin is where our anger should be targeted and not on any race of people since we all descended from the same people.

The Bible and the founders from the Protestant churches such as the Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans etc do not acknowledge the Pope as being Christian. Rather they all point to the office of the pope as antichrist.

Martin Luther said "the papacy is the...antichrist" (D'Aubigne book 6 chapter 9)

Cotton Mather (Congregationalist) said that the pope is "Antichrist" (rom the book written by LeRoy E Froom, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers Vol 3 page 113)

Thomas Cranmer an Anglican said "the pope" is "antichrist hinself" (Works by Cranmer Vol 1 p 6-7)

So, the Bible is not the problem. It has been abused and misused but it doesn't justify racism nor oppression and just because people have done wrong things in the name of Christ and His Word doesn't mean that the Bible is the issue.

We could take the time to discuss all the Christians who have used God's word to elevate the black race such as Martin Luther King Jr and others .

The Bible holds the answers for the problem of our nation. Don't look to men as the standard, look to Jesus and let Him show you the truth of the Word.

Peace.

Posted 13 June 2021, 7:06 p.m. Suggest removal

themessenger says...

@young_lion, thanks for your words of wisdom and peace.
Proverbs 15 vrs 1&2:
A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge,
but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.
Pax Vobiscum my friend.

Posted 14 June 2021, 7:30 p.m. Suggest removal

tribanon says...

Get a life @stislez. Most of us Bahamians are long past blaming people of another colour for our own self-inflicted problems. Even our illegal immigrant crisis has nothing to do with the colour of the illegal immigrants but rather the most serious problems that overwhelming numbers of them present for The Bahamas and the Bahamian people. Suggest you start liking yourself and stop hating everybody else who does not have your same skin colour.

Posted 14 June 2021, 9:57 a.m. Suggest removal

trueBahamian says...

The article says there were 20 police involved shootings for 2020 where there were 11 fatalities and 11 non-fatal, that's 22. Mmmm...interesting! Does anyone review these articles prior to publication? There are spelling errors, grammatical errors, etc.

Posted 14 June 2021, 10:57 a.m. Suggest removal

c-dub says...

trueBahamian it says "Overall, there were 20 incidents of police involved shootings in 2020, resulting in 11 deaths and 11 non-fatal injuries" this implies that an incident could have resulted in more than one injuries/deaths. So there is no obvious issue here. I agree with your allusion about the low editorial standards though.

Posted 14 June 2021, 11:23 a.m. Suggest removal

c-dub says...

a

Posted 14 June 2021, 11:24 a.m. Suggest removal

tribanon says...

Like many other local businesses, The Tribune itself may be having serious financial problems in these very difficult economic times. This might explain the obvious cost-cutting related declines in the quality of its published articles.

I know it's only hearsay, but a banker friend of mine recently overheard one of her banker friends employed at another bank talking about The Tribune's credit facilities being on their 'Watch-list of Most Worrisome Customers'. I was very surprised to hear this because quite a few years ago rumours were circulating that the Greek principal behind The Nassau Guardian was seriously exploring the possibility of obtaining a controlling ownership interest in The Tribune. Oh well, who knows what to believe these days.

Posted 14 June 2021, 11:50 a.m. Suggest removal

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