By Shawn Seabrookes
Reporter-SKNVibes
The Police are doing everything they can to curb the recent increase in gun related crimes, especially in the last three weeks. Two persons have died as a result of gun shot wounds over that span.
The most recent came on Saturday, 9th June, when Craig “Professor” Hamilton was gunned down in Conaree, his hometown, just around noon- broad daylight.
It is alleged that ridiculous and senseless fighting between two “gangs” in the village escalated to a tense level.
There is also some speculation that the two factions split after there were some accusations of theft among some members of the “gang” and attempts to mend the situation have been futile.
Additional speculations also suggest that some ammunition was found and turned over to the Police, and that sparked retaliation, as that was considered as ”an informer-like” tactic.
The bottom line is Conaree residents are voicing their disgust at the present situation and definitely concerned for their lives. The ripple effect cannot be ignored either, as this fear has expanded to the whole St. Kitts community. The other gun related death involved 15 year old Jumal “Sunky” Mike, who was found dead in a church under construction in the St. Johnston Village area, with a gun shot wound to his head.
The Security Forces- Police, Defence Force and Strike Force- have stepped up their tactics to try to apprehend the perpetrators but they are also appealing to the general public to collaborate with them, by providing relevant information.
One security officer noted that the Government needs to give them a “free hand”. He indicated that several years ago, when there were problems with disorganized gangs such as the “Acid Crew” and “Death Squad”, the Government had given them a free hand and they were able to combat the situation quite effectively.
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Prime Minister of the Federation, Dr. the Hon. Denzil Douglas, issued a statement on the increase in gun related crimes and appealed for the public to partner with the Police to alleviate the situation.He too intimated the need for relevant information to be fed to the Police by community residents.
