By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
A MAN became the 52nd murder victim of the year when he was killed during an argument with another man on Saturday.
According to police, shortly before 2am on Saturday a group of men were in the area of Royal Palm Street, Culmersville when the altercation took place.
A man left the area but returned a short time later with a handgun. The man he shot died on the scene.
The deceased has been identified across social media as Kendrick Clark. He was the first person killed in six days.
The previous murder victim, Noel Cartwright, was shot dead while sitting in his car outside his business on West Bay Street on Sunday, June 17.
That same day, Minister of National Security Marvin Dames called a press conference to announce a series of new crime fighting strategies geared towards the blanket coverage of specific hotspot areas in New Providence.
He referred to the planned enrolment of some 105 new recruits, the roll out of a new crime reporting app, the long-awaited roll out of the Marco's Alert and the incorporation of new crime fighting equipment as a part of the 2018 budget cycle, including an updated fleet of squad cars valued at $6.9m.
Despite a spate of murders, Mr Dames said killings were trending downward.
"We are extremely proud of the progress we are making, but takes you aback whenever people lose their lives, especially persons who were hard at work making ends meet for their families and it is never a good sign," Mr Dames said last week.
Up to this point in 2017, there were 68 murders according to The Tribune's records, representing a decrease of 23 percent.
Comments
John 5 years, 9 months ago
One thing some communities are doing is after every news segment they are posting the pictures of the Most wanted suspects and the crimes they are wanted for along with hotline numbers for persons who may have information. Again this is an ‘after the crime ‘ effort but at least it helps shorten the amount of free time criminals have on the streets.
Alex_Charles 5 years, 9 months ago
Sometimes I wish these murderers would just kill themselves and spare us the heartache, court time and murder rates.
John 5 years, 9 months ago
Not every young man that is killed is a criminal or have done someone some injustice. Our Father, God, says he allowed some to be killed to keep them from evil. TO KEEP THEM FROM EVIL! No one knows the trials and temptations many of these young men are going through because we never bothered to ask them. In fact we continue to buy police cars and guns and allow them to be gunned down like dogs. EIGHTEEN HOLES in one! But our God says I allowed them to be delivered from evil. Taken away from that wicked temptation. And they are safely and peacefully resting in the bosom of Abraham. Mothers may continue to weep for their sons. And question why. But God knows best. And for some he says ‘I will be the father of your children and no one will be able to take them from you. No one! Weep for those who are still alive, not for the innocent who have had their lives snuffed out for God knows best.
John 5 years, 9 months ago
And as long as the authorities remain silent on this slay of this innocent young man they are active participants in one of the most brutal and violent killings in the country. The Bible says they are dumb dogs that refuse to bark. They are not dumb because they cannot bark, but because they REFUSE to bark. Active participation.
TalRussell 5 years, 9 months ago
Ma Comrades, the evidence left at Royal Palm Street, speaks to why the Imperial red shirts regime had better begin diverting publicpurse's money from jailing and policeman's stations - over to community-based prevention measures. The evidence left at Royal Palm Street - calls out to invest in programs backed by solid evidence that beefing up spending on early intervention programs is THE sensible way reach our younger citizens... not imprisoning a whole new younger generation. In all criminal acts to convict or acquit - you follow the evidence or lack evidence.... not make it up to justify.
sheeprunner12 5 years, 9 months ago
Who are all of these young men who are murdered in this country??????? ..... are they all criminally-connected or this is just the way that black Bahamian men settle scores??????
TalRussell 5 years, 9 months ago
Ma Comrades, television breeds commercialism, Commercialism breeds greed. Outlaw TV's.
Aegeaon 5 years, 9 months ago
Look at this now, this all shows the evidence.
This is the rise of the new narco-state of the Bahamas. Gang warfare is nearing its zenith, the sense of fear is at the highest, the government and the number boys' money laundering molding the economics to pave way for the Mexican Drug Cartels to enter into the Bahamas. We had our 400 years of slavery. Lynden was the worst of all the Prime Ministers. He broke away from slavery, yet doomed us all for the Drug Cartels to create a new narco-empire for themselves.
The crossroads of fate now align today. Will the Bahamians realize that they're destroying their land alone, and fight to undo Lynden's corrupted legacy? Or will our government and society continue to blame our problems on non-existent slavery and dying racism, while drug lords and their cartels march on to the Bahamas.
Should that happen, the biggest losers will be the majority.
John 5 years, 9 months ago
Aeageon: If an once of what you were saying was true do you think the Bahamas would be in the economic shambles it is in today? Most of the eighty billion metric tones of cocaine that goes into the United States enter through Mexico, California and New York. And even most that now go into Florida go on commercial craft and established shipping routes and do not involve Bahamians.. so who is responsible for smuggling all this drugs into the US, distributing it and even consuming 80 Billion tons of cocaine? So while The Bahamas has been conveniently lebelled a narcotic trafficking it appears that the biggest organization of drug trafficking is within the US itself. As for the unrelenting killings of so many young men in the country many blame this on drugs and gang warfare. But many who are now dead and cannot speak to defend the label that was put on them after they were killed, spent most of their short, barely adult life trying to avoid the things they are accused off. In the US, sitting judges and other high ranking officials have been accused of human and weapons trafficking and some, even after being found guilty have yet to receive jail time. But in your eyesight everything Bahamian is wrong. And while Donald Trump is blaming Mexico and South America for the most deadly MS-13 gang. This gang was created in the jails of America. Then the jails were emptied of the gang members and they were deported to their homelands. There the membership grew by leaps and bounds and the gang became so deadly members are now sneaking back into the US and hiding out in non traditional gang territories. And since they are known for killing non gang members and high ranking officials is what has the president so concerned. Yet the lie is put on The Bahamas that young men want to form drug cartels and terrorists groups. If the Bahamas was such a significant narco trafficking state, why hasn’t the quantity of drugs being trafficked into the US been reduced after drugs passing through the Bahamas has been cut by more than 80 percent? In fact drugs flowing into the US is increasing.
John 5 years, 9 months ago
YOU DO THE MATH: while you are concerned about a few colored boys making money from numbers who is benefiting from all the cocaine going to the US annually. 80 Billion tons. A ton of cocaine is about 907 kilos. A kilo of cocaine sells for average $20,000 in the US. So multiply 80 Billion by 907 by $20,000.00. And so trillions of dollars worth of cocaine enters the US annually. And that is not to mention other drugs. And what evidence that even a small fraction of that is passing through the Bahamas? And the data shows where the three major entry points to the US are.
sheeprunner12 5 years, 9 months ago
Yeh John ........ who controls the global cocaine, hashish, pills & heroin cartels?????? .......... I bet u the majority are WHITE men .......... smh
Aegeaon 5 years, 9 months ago
Ah. Blaming the white people for your mistakes. Blaming America for your short comings.
The problem is that Bahamians can't swallow their own pride and admit their mistakes were created by them alone. Lynden was the very same Bahamian who introduced us to the drug trade by Carlos Lehder, the drug lord for the Medellin Drug Cartel, which Pablo Escobar was the very first drug kingpin in cartel history to use the Caribbean, and the first spot for drug running came from Norman's Cay, in Exuma.
So, you may think that the cartels are using other routes to the US. You're correct. However. The public is blind to what is really going on in our waters or in ports. The gangs are still here, evolving more and more on smuggling. A dealer or gang leader can make friends with more wealthy smugglers, help them get the drugs to the US covertly and get paid. In turn, they create their own smuggling routes into the Bahamas to sell cocaine to their friends in the inner-city. And they can make sure that no one knows about it.
I mean, what's the bet that drug dealers and gang leaders have a upper-class home with a military armory loaded with rifles, light machine guns, sidearms, and even a grenade launcher or a rocket launcher too? No police efforts have exposed how easy and profitable the Bahamian drug trade is compared to other countries. You can get easily killed in Columbia. easily tracked by the DEA in the US, or practically all the above in other places.
Except the Bahamas. We have a paralyzed and outnumbered police force, we have the RBDF pacified for PR stunts. Everything else is rendered useless against this drug war.
3,000 Bahamians killed in a 30 year span in a 7x21 island, all because of the drug deal and how incompetent the political system is. There's no one else to blame but Bahamians who condone hiding criminals, and allowing money launderers to work legally. This is exclusively our fault for ruining the nation.
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