BY LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A SURGE of violent crime has shattered the calm of Harbour Island, leaving residents stunned and fearful after a fatal shooting early Tuesday marked the island’s first murder of the year.

The victim, 25-year-old Cameron Bannister, a father and well-known local, was gunned down in the early hours while riding a golf cart with a friend on Munnings Street. Police say the pair was ambushed. Bannister did not survive.

The brazen killing, occurring just hours after a community prayer rally, has shaken this picturesque enclave to its core.

“I can tell you, the island is in a panic right now,” said Senior Pastor Daniel Major of the Church of God of Prophecy. “People are in shock.” 

Superintendent Franklyn Neely, head of the Eleuthera Division, confirmed several men are in custody as investigations continue.

But Bannister’s murder is only the latest in a string of violent incidents that have unnerved this tight-knit community. In the past month alone, two other people have been shot: a woman sitting in a vehicle on May 26 and a man just three days later in a separate incident. While police have yet to confirm any connections between the cases, many residents believe the violence is tied to an escalating turf war on the island.

Pastor Major said the recent attacks are unlike anything Harbour Island has seen before. The woman injured last month, a member of his congregation, is recovering but still facing medical challenges.

Tuesday’s killing hit especially close to home for the pastor. Bannister’s mother, a regular participant in local prayer rallies, had missed the latest one — held just hours before her son’s death.

“You know all of these young men, from they were babies, you witnessed them grow up, and it’s like something. It’s the devil, yes, and sin is the blame. That’s exactly what it is,” Pastor Major said, describing Bannister as a quiet man who loved motorbikes.

The sense of fear is spreading fast. One long-time resident, who identified herself only as Keke, said she cancelled her birthday plans out of concern for her safety.

Two of the recent shootings occurred near her workplace.

“To see the police officer, you know, on the back of the truck, like they’re about to raid or whatever, it’s like my eyes got full and my heart got so heavy,” she said. “It could very well be like I’m walking out of a store and I’m at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Keke, like many others, believes illegal firearms and idle youth are driving the violence, and that stronger, more direct action is needed.

“Police need to just bust down doors. They know who is who. The island small,” she said. “If you need to bust down my door to see who I have, do what you need to do.”

Pastor Major said local churches are prepared to assist in disarming young men, even offering to receive firearms directly and hand them over to police.

Former North Eleuthera MP Rickey Mackey warned that the region’s booming tourism-based economy could suffer if the crisis continues unchecked.

“We are at risk of losing this vibrant economy that we have in Eleuthera,” he said, noting that many police officers currently stationed in the area are either retired or approaching retirement age. “Something has to be done.”

Pastor Major, who also manages properties on the island, said clients from abroad have already started reaching out with concerns about the escalating violence.

In a statement, North Eleuthera MP Sylvanus Petty condemned the violence as more than a criminal problem, calling it a community crisis. “It is time for residents, leaders, and law enforcement to come together and confront the problem with urgency and purpose,” he said.

Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles did not respond yesterday to The Tribune’s requests for comment.