The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

POLICE fatally shot a man who allegedly brandished a gun at them after leading officers on a car chase in the Nassau Village community early on Saturday.

Royal Bahamas Police Force said the deceased was being sought because he matched the description of an assailant who was said to be in possession of a firearm in the Nassau Village area.

Police said a preliminary investigation indicated that shortly after 3am, officers from the Operations Unit went to a business on Alexandria Boulevard where a male suspect was said to be in possession of a firearm.

 “On the arrival of the unit, they saw a male suspect fitting the description,” the RBPF said in a crime report. “On seeing the police the suspect went into his vehicle and attempted to drive off in an easterly direction along Alexander Boulevard. The officers, with their service weapon drawn, beckoned the driver to stop and exit the vehicle.

 “However, he accelerated in an eastern direction toward the officers. Being in fear for their lives, the officers discharged their weapon in the direction of the oncoming vehicle. The driver managed to evade them and sped off. He collided into a vehicle that was parked on the northern side of the street and continued travelling east along Alexander,” according to the release.

 “The officers then pursued the suspect. As the suspect turned south onto Matthew Street, his vehicle crashed into another parked vehicle and came to a stop. The officers exited their cruiser in an attempt to affect an arrest. As they approached the vehicle, they noticed the suspect exiting his vehicle brandishing a firearm.

 “As a result, the officers became aware of the threat toward their lives. They discharged their weapons in the direction of the suspect, injuring him. The officers recovered a pistol from the suspect,” police said.

 Emergency Medical Services visited the scene and pronounced the man dead. The coroner also visited the scene to be apprised of the facts.

 Police said once investigations into this case are completed, the matter will be forwarded to the Coroner’s Court for an inquest.

 The identity of the deceased was not known up to press time.

 In June, police killed a man after he allegedly assaulted an elderly woman and shot a young man who followed him.

 A video from a witness to the incident showed at least three police officers on the roof of a house shooting down at the suspect as bystanders assembled in the area. At least 19 shots were fired in the clip.

 That same month, a man who “charged at” an officer with a cutlass was fatally shot by police on Poitier Avenue and Foster Street in Chippingham.

 Relatives said the deceased appeared to be suffering from mental illness. Police had been called to the home because the deceased had reportedly been acting erratically before he was fatally shot.

 In early October, a man who allegedly threatened his mother with a knife during an argument at her home, was fatally shot by his police officer stepfather on Wednesday night, police said.

 According to Assistant Superintendent of Police Audley Peters, sometime before 11pm the young man arrived at his mother’s home off St Alban’s Drive and was let in.

 An argument reportedly followed and an off-duty police officer in the home was said to have witnessed his stepson holding a knife to his mother’s throat.

 ASP Peters said the officer called for back-up, but shot the victim before the reinforcement arrived.

 There were 20 incidents of police involved shootings in 2020, resulting in 11 deaths and 11 non-fatal injuries.