BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, June 18. 2018 – OPPOSITION Member of Parliament, Hon. Konris Maynard is calling for a united approach to dealing with the current crime problems affecting St. Kitts and Nevis.
The call comes as St. Kitts and Nevis recorded its 15th homicide, when bus driver Ronaldo Jeffers was gunned down in College Street Ghaut as he waited for his passenger bus to fill.
Police in a statement on the incident said units responded to reports of the shooting, and upon arrival found the motionless body of Jeffers in the driver’s seat of a motor bus he had been driving, with “what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds about the body and to the head”.
During an interview with SKNVibes today, Maynard described the incident as “shocking and horrible” news that the federation do not want to see being reported in society.
With a call to do more to assist those young men in society, MP Maynard lamented that the possibility that any individual can be the next victim of a crime is never a good notion.
“We cannot accept this; and we need to do more without a shadow of a doubt. It seems as though that it can be anybody who is next. We need to find a way that everyone can value the sanctity of life. From where I sit, I am willing to be part of any effort to improve the situation,” he said.
The latest shooting incident comes against the backdrop of law enforcement officers reporting the continued confiscation of illegal firearms and matching rounds from the streets of St. Kitts and Nevis.
According to police, they have confiscated 16 firearms from the streets of both St. Kitts and from Nevis so far for 2018.
Though those were removed, gun crimes continue including shooting at with intent, and the Parliamentary Representative wants a multi stakeholder meeting to discuss and charter a way forward, since an all hands on deck approach is needed.
“I, the government or the opposition cannot do it alone. We must come together, we must be able to sit at the same table and engage different stakeholders to change the direction that we are going in,” adds Maynard.
While underscoring the point that crime should not be used as a political tool, the MP said that though most of the attention is placed on murders, other crimes are trending in an upward direction.
“We really need to sit down and determine what we need to do as a nation to reverse this course,” adds Maynard.
St. Kitts and Nevis recorded several homicides over the last several weeks, including the killing of a juvenile in Taylor’s Village, the murder of Iona Nicholas of Ponds Extension and the shooting death of Jamie Chapman of Clay Ghaut, Nevis.
