By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A HEART-WRENCHING video capturing a young father’s murder in front of his toddler daughter sparked public outrage over the weekend.

The deadly shooting happened early Saturday morning when Quintero Arnett, believed to be in his 20s, was sitting in a vehicle with his daughter and girlfriend outside a business on Dunmore Street. CCTV footage captured a car pulling up before several masked gunmen emerged and opened fire on his vehicle.

In an emotional Facebook post, Mr Arnett’s father shared a photo of his smiling granddaughter. He wrote: “Hours later, she is in such a happy spirit, too young to know what’s going on. God saved this little angel for me. My son surely did his best with her his lil twin.”

Footage showed bullets shattering Arnett’s window.

In his final moments, he opened the back door, allowing his terrified daughter to escape. She paused briefly, looking at her father while the gunmen circled him. He appeared to say one last word to her before collapsing to the ground. The girl then ran away as the gunmen continued shooting. 

When The Tribune visited the scene, Arnett’s family was inconsolable, hugging, wiping away tears, and standing in silence. 

 Minister Arlene Anderson of Shiloh Abundant Life Ministries prayed with the grieving family. She said Arnett lived a peaceful life and strived to be a good person for his family and community. She called his death a “harsh reality” of a young man trying to do good despite his environment not being ideal.

She said he was focused, passionate about boats and cars, and aspired to be an entrepreneur like his parents. 

“His daughter was his heart, his parents, and his family,” she said. “His grandfather is out here as well, and so those who you see flocking is his village. He had a good village. He was a good guy, and he really did not deserve to die the way that he died.”

Police said they were alerted to the shooting shortly after 7.30am by ShotSpotter technology, which detected gunfire in the Dunmore Street area. Officers arrived to find Arnett lying on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds. 

The attackers fled west in a white Japanese model vehicle.

Chief Superintendent Sheria King confirmed that Arnett’s daughter and girlfriend were not injured. Bystanders on the scene said the victim was not from the area.

Bahamas Christian Council president Bishop Delton Fernander said the incident shook everyone. 

“I was horrified,” he said, describing his reaction to the shooting. “I was horrified that the child was traumatised for the rest of their life. Quite frankly, I didn’t know if they were going to kill the child too. As I said, these are products of our nation, and we must find a way to deal with this problem because it’s our challenge as a nation.”

Khandi Gibson, founder of Families of All Murder Victims (FOAM), said gunmen no longer care who gets hurt in the crossfire, describing the incident as cold-hearted. She recalled a case last year when a man was shot dead while holding his eight-month-old baby.

“Children aren’t safe anymore,” she said.

The killing brought the country’s murder count to 12 for the year.