By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunmedia.net

THE puzzling deaths of 22–month–old Anwar Miller and his father yesterday morning in an apartment complex on Family Street have left many struggling to put the pieces together. 

Chief Superintendent Michael Johnson told reporters during a briefing yesterday that police were alerted sometime shortly after 1am yesterday to a disturbance in the area of Family Street, off Solider Road. He said a tenant told police officers that he was being attacked by his landlord – who was later identified as Anwar’s father.

“When the officers went to the area that he directed them to they met a male on the inside of his apartment. As they were about to confront him, he barricaded himself into a bedroom. As they were about to breach that bedroom they heard glass being broken on the outside. When they went on the outside of the apartment building they met this male jumping through a window,” CSP Johnson said. 

When The Tribune visited the scene of the incident, the apartment had a shattered glass window with built-in security bars. It was revealed that Anwar’s father who is also a taxi driver “broke the window panes” to escape the apartment.

“The officers attempted to subdue him,” CSP Johnson said. However, the situation escalated into a cat-and-mouse chase.

“They had to chase him a short distance. He jumped a fence and went into a garbage bin. They had to take him out of that garbage bin. And a struggle ensued between the officers and this male as they were making attempts to subdue him. Finally, they were able to arrest him. He was placed in handcuffs and brought back to the yard where EMS was contacted. They were then alerted to another bedroom inside of that apartment building.”

The incident took a gruesome turn when officers found the body of 22-month-old Anwar in the other bedroom.

“They met the body of a male child. He was lying on his back on a mattress. He appeared to be unresponsive. They attempted CPR. However, they awaited EMS personnel to come to the aid of that child. They took that child inside the ambulance where they were trying to resuscitate him. He was eventually taken from that scene and he was brought in dead,” CSP Johnson said. 

“The male who was restrained by the officers, EMS personnel also checked him, and he had no signs of life.”

When asked if there were any wounds found on the child and the father, CSP Johnson said: “The child had no visible wounds, there was some discoloration of the skin. The adult male had minor abrasions we assumed from jumping through the window because the glass was broken. And so again, we would await the autopsy.”

 In a viral post on Facebook, an alleged tenant gave her firsthand account of the matter, saying it was “traumatising”. She claimed the landlord tampered with the security cameras on the apartment during the incident. 

 Security cameras were seen on the apartment when this newspaper visited the scene. CSP Johnson said the cameras are helping with the investigation, noting there was footage retrieved from that area.

He also said police will be speaking with residents to get a better understanding of what occurred. 

Asked about the child’s mother, CSP Johnson said the mother has spoken with the Central Detective Unit (CID) to assist with the investigation. He noted the mother was aware the child was with the father.

In terms of whether the father’s behaviour resulted from mental challenges or drug substances, CSP Johnson said the police will have to wait for the autopsy.

“We will have to wait on the autopsy. I’m not sure of his mental capacity. But again, that is a part of our investigation that we will be checking into.”

Many neighbours in Family Street were baffled by the incident, explaining the area is usually peaceful. 

Meanwhile, Bahamas Christian Council president Bishop Delton Fernander was saddened by the deaths. He urged the public to intervene when those around them are not acting in a normal fashion.

Bishop Fernander said the council will do its part by relaunching its help hotline. 

“We are making ourselves available as we did before with the tensions that are arising,” he said. We’re going to work again to open up the hotline in short order. We will seek the spot again we did it during COVID when we opened up the hotline for prayers.”

“I think as we counsel this family. As we go and try to bring relief to the situation, we realise that as a society, we’ve got to intervene when things are going away from the norm.”