BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – POLICE have launched an investigation into yet another fatal shooting, the latest in a string of violent incidents across the Federation.
The Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF) confirmed that the incident occurred at the Royal Kingdom Bar in Lime Kiln between 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. on April 20, 2026.
Officers responding to the scene found a male lying motionless on the floor of the establishment, later being identified as 22-year-old Shamari Baptiste, a national of St. Vincent and the Grenadines who resided at Buckley’s Estate.
Preliminary reports indicate that Baptiste was waiting on a food order when he was approached by an armed assailant, who opened fire, striking him in the neck. He died at the scene.
This brings the number of homicides recorded so far this year to four, and comes amid a troubling spike in recent shootings.
On the morning of April 18, Jerod Robert Stapleton, also known as “Jay Bay,” of Ottley’s Village, was gunned down.
Police say Stapleton had left his home shortly before 8:00 a.m. and travelled to his farm, where he was confronted by one or more armed assailants who opened fire on his vehicle. He reportedly sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the head and upper body and was pronounced dead at the scene.
In a separate incident on April 5, Jermaine “Chubby” Clarke was shot and killed in the Keys Village area.
Around 12:30 a.m., officers responded to reports of gunfire and found Clarke inside a vehicle with a female passenger when he was attacked by armed assailants. Both were taken to the Joseph N. France General Hospital, where Clarke later died from his injuries. The female occupant was injured during the incident and remains under medical care.
Clarke was well known in the local music scene as the lead singer of the Kollision Band.
Police investigations into all three incidents are ongoing.
