In the wake of fatal shooting in the Pinewood Gardens Constituency on Friday, Pinewood Member of Parliament Khaalis Rolle called for the lip service and the political blame game on crime to stop, he stressed that a stern commitment nationwide is needed to combat the problem.

While on the crime scene with the pool of blood from the victim still fresh on ground, Mr. Rolle told reporters that if something is not done, the nation runs the risk of losing a generation and the entire country to crime.

“We can make it a political issue as much as we want, we can make it any issue, the reality of the problem we have is it’s a country problem and as much as I spend my time in Pinewood trying to ensure that this community a safe and prosperous community, I can’t do it alone,” he said.

“I don’t have infinite resources, the country is at stake and the country has to respond, not the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), or the Free National Movement (FNM) or the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), the lip service has to stop and we have to make a commitment as a country and that’s not me as a politician talking that’s me as a Bahamian who cares about the future of this country.”

Mr. Rolle emphasised that a fundamental approach is needed for this issue.

He stressed that a mind-set change is also needed among today’s youth.

“We have to be macho, we have to be this alpha male and people have to know me as a gunman or a bad boy, on the streets that’s how these young men get their identity and we have to replace that with something,” he said.

“We have a lot of work to do and I don’t care how many cars you put on the streets, I don’t care what you do with the judicial system if you don’t get to the underlying pathology, the root cause, we’re going to continue to have this problem.”

He added that the country is faced with so many factors that contribute crime, in particular, under education and the, lack of job opportunities.

Given the rate of crime, with the murder count now surpassing the 100th mark, many have called for the enforcement of capital punishment.

However, although Mr. Rolle supports capital punishment, he expressed doubt with it as an effective deterrent to crime.

In the meantime, Mr. Rolle said that despite there being a lack of resources, he implemented a basketball program in the community in an effort to reach out to youth.

According to family members the victim shot to death in Pinewood Gardens is Antonio “Buggy” Burrows.

According to police reports, shortly after 8:00 a.m. three men in a grey coloured Honda Accord, vehicle license # 247646 armed with a handgun, pulled up and snatched Burrows chain off his neck.

The men then shot the victim twice in his chest before speeding off.

Burrows died at the scene, therefore bringing the murder count up to 102 for this year.