Despite claims that the rate of homicides in the Bahamas is on decline, Doctors in the Princess Margaret Hospital are being kept busy in New Providence trying to save lives from several shootings.
Yesterday, medical professionals struggled to save two young men who were shot in separate incidences, but were unsuccessful.
In the first incident, police confirmed that a man shot while at a bar on Market Street and Bahama Avenue on Wednesday and the other man was shot in his home on Lobster Avenue off Baillou Hill Road, south yesterday. Both died in hospital.
According to the police, officers were called to Market Street and Bahama Avenue on Wednesday after receiving reports of gunshots being heard. Upon arrival, officers discovered a male with gunshot injuries.
Then on Thursday, shortly after 5:00am, two armed men forced entry into the home and shot him before fleeing on foot. Paramedics were called to the scene and transported the victim to hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
A senior Policeman told the Journal yesterday, “ these shootings are putting a strain on the officers. You can’t tell officers that they cannot get vacation or time off. Yet we have to keep a number of young men under surveillance.
“Young men are coming out of prison every week; some have finished their sentences, having served their time and some are on bail. Many of them come back on the streets with a vengeance. They don’t have any jobs and they are on the hustle,” said the officer.
He said in this country we say murder is down, but if the scores of men who were shot but were saved by doctors had died, the number will be much higher.
The officer said, “daring armed robberies are more common now, people are getting robbed every night.
“Drugs are still selling, you can get drugs very easily and you can get your hands on a gun any day if you are a criminal. Out there it is about the survival of the fittest. This is a time bomb kind of environment out there, and many people are going to explode,” said the officer.
