By Tynia Brown
Journal Staff Writer
Despite focused efforts to curb domestic violence in The Bahamas, the country continues to
grapple with devastating cases that have left families shattered and communities reeling. In
recent days, two separate incidents of domestic violence have resulted in three deaths, including
a murder-suicide, and several others have been injured.
On Saturday, July 5th, 2025, police launched an investigation into the death of a 48-year-old
woman who succumbed to injuries sustained in an apparent domestic dispute. According to
police reports, the woman was allegedly attacked by a man known to her while on Watlins Street
shortly before 3:30 a.m. She was transported by ambulance to the hospital, where she later died.
A 55-year-old man was arrested in connection with the matter.
Just three days later, in the early morning hours of Tuesday, July 8th, a more violent episode
unfolded at a residence on Mantol Street in Montel Heights. Police say a 58-year-old man, armed
with a firearm and a cutlass, entered the home and attacked an adult female resident. During the
altercation, he also shot an adult male, fatally wounding him, and a juvenile female, who was
also struck by gunfire.
When officers arrived, the suspect was found outside the residence with what appeared to be a
self-inflicted gunshot wound. A firearm was recovered at the scene. Emergency Medical
Services confirmed that the suspect and the adult male victim were deceased. The injured woman
and child were taken to the hospital for medical treatment. Their current condition remains
unknown.
The murder-suicide brought the national murder count to 46, down from 61 at this time last year,
a slight decrease. However, authorities continue to express concern over the persistence of
domestic violence. The suicide marked the ninth recorded so far this year.
These tragic events come just months after the official launch of the Royal Bahamas Police
Force Domestic Violence Unit and the opening of a new Domestic Violence Center on Infant
View Road in Chippingham. The facility includes administrative and counseling services, a
children’s playroom, sleeping quarters, and kitchen facilities. It forms part of a broader strategy
to combat domestic abuse through prevention, early intervention, and survivor support.
At the official opening ceremony, Prime Minister the Hon. Philip Davis underscored the national
urgency of the issue, stating, “This isn’t part of a broader strategy. It’s legislative reform, it’s
increased support for shelters and safe housing, and education that helps us prevent violence
before it starts.”

Acknowledging that “this is not pretending the hurt is outside the community,” Prime Minister
Davis spoke candidly about the continued pain domestic violence inflicts across Bahamian
society. “It was created for the woman who has packed and unpacked her bag a dozen times,
trying to find the right time to leave,” Prime Minister Davis said. “It was created for the child
who flinches at raised voices, because they’ve learned what comes next.”
Prime Minister Davis also reminded the public that domestic violence “lives in the homes and
communities, and in quiet places where people feel afraid, alone, and unsure they should get
help.”
While praising officers and partners who continue to work hand-in-hand with shelters and
organizations like The Bahamas Crisis Centre, Davis noted, “Our job is not just to react, or feel
bad. It’s to fix what we’ve long taken for granted.”
In closing, Prime Minister Davis called on Bahamians to “be brave enough to talk about it, wise
enough to prevent it, and strong enough to stop it,” stating: “The mark of a good society is not
how it treats the powerful, but how it protects the vulnerable.”
Still, questions persist about the pace of the government’s broader response. Although the
landmark Protection Against Violence Bill was passed earlier this year, legislation that promised
a comprehensive, multi-agency commission to coordinate national anti-violence efforts, its
implementation has been slow.
Social Services Minister Myles LaRoda recently insisted that while the commission has not yet
been formally established, its core responsibilities are “already being carried out behind the
scenes.”
However, Dr. Sandra Dean-Patterson, Director of the Bahamas Crisis Centre, expressed strong
disappointment with the government’s pace, urging faster and more transparent progress. “There
have been some meetings,” she acknowledged, “but at this stage, meetings are not enough. We
need action, and we need it now.”
She emphasized that the bill was meant to unify key ministries, including Social Services,
National Security, Health, and Education, but said they are still operating in silos. “Each ministry
is doing its own thing,” she said. “But this is a national crisis. We are seeing an increase in
suicide, in suicide ideation, and general violence across the country. We can’t address this by
working separately.”
Dr. Dean-Patterson emphasized the importance of a coordinated strategy, describing the
commission as a necessary body to bring long-hidden truths to light. “If people knew the reports,
the trauma, the silence that surrounds these issues, they would be in horror,” she said. “That’s
what this commission will do. It will make the invisible visible.”
While she welcomed recent initiatives, such as the Police Domestic Violence Unit and youth
summer programmes, she insisted that more must be done.
“Things can be done better. Things must be done more effectively and more honestly. We have
the will and we have the tools, we just need the follow-through.”

As the country mourns more lives lost to intimate partner violence, survivors, advocates, and the
wider public wait for promised reforms to take full effect. The stakes, they say, could not be
higher.