By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

ANTI-crime activist Carlos Reid has warned that the nation’s crime problem is likely to worsen before improving, calling for a united community effort following the country’s first two homicides of the year.

Mr Reid, a consultant to the Ministry of National Security, acknowledged the recent appointment of Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles as a positive development, he cautioned that crime trends cannot be reversed overnight. 

“We didn’t get here overnight,” said Mr Reid. “There has to be a systematic approach, and there are some things that we working on behind the scenes that can bring some systematic approach to this country.” 

He stressed the importance of collective responsibility, saying, “It has to start with all of us. All of us have to live in this country. All of us have a role to play. We cannot sit back and say, this a government problem, this a police problem, this is a church problem.” 

Mr Reid emphasised that tackling crime requires everyone’s active participation. 

On January 13, a 27-year-old man was fatally shot in Big Pond. 

According to initial police reports, the victim was outside a home on Lakeshore Road, off Tucker Road, with two other individuals when a black American-model sedan approached from Rupert Dean Lane. An occupant exited the vehicle and fired multiple shots, causing the group to scatter. 

The suspects fled the scene in the vehicle, heading south onto Water Street. Police arrived to find the victim with gunshot wounds to his upper body. He was transported to hospital by Emergency Medical Services but later succumbed to his injuries. 

On January 15, a shooting in Nassau Village left a 33-year-old woman dead and a 31-year-old man injured. 

Shortly before 6.30pm, ShotSpotter technology detected gunfire on Alexandria Avenue. Officers responded and learned that the victims were travelling west on Catherine Street in a grey Japanese-model car when a black Korean-model jeep, travelling east, stopped behind them. 

Two armed men exited the jeep and opened fire on the victims’ vehicle. As the driver attempted to escape by turning west onto Alexandria Boulevard, the car crashed and overturned. A third gunman then fired additional shots before all three suspects fled in the jeep, which was later recovered abandoned on a dirt road off Charles Saunders Highway. 

The female victim succumbed to her injuries, while the male victim remained in stable condition. Investigations are ongoing.