The Tribune

ACTING Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis yesterday shrugged off concerns that he was personally targeted by the three gunmen who invaded his home and terrorised his family.

Police sources said that at least one suspect was being detained yesterday. However, that was later denied by Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade.

Mr Davis vowed that he would not be shaken or deterred from the government’s anti-crime fight, and called on the public to join hands with politicians to combat social ills.

He rejected assertions that the high profile security breach reflected the capacity of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and urged the public not to consider the armed raid as an attack on his office.

“I don’t want (the public) to look at my office as being a victim. I want the international public and my Bahamian people to understand that everyone of us can be a victim of crime, and I want them to understand and appreciate that we are making inroads in reducing this scourge. We have in place a number of initiatives that are having some impact and they ought not to be alarmed.”

Culprits held up Mr Davis’ unarmed driver, and robbed the acting prime minister and his family shortly

after 7am inside their Westridge Estates home on Monday.

According to National Security Minister Bernard Nottage, police aides had not yet reported for work when the incident occurred.

Defending police efforts, Mr Davis said the masked thugs did not realize they had stormed the home of the deputy prime minister until they found him in his bedroom.

It was at that time that the culprits became “frantic”, according to Mr Davis, who said the gunmen moved quickly after they recognized him.

“I don’t think I was targeted,” he said.

“From all accounts the culprits were not aware of the home that they were entering into, because they took my aide as the owner of the house,” Mr Davis said. “They thought they were dealing with the owner of the house, it was only when they came into the bedroom and saw me. I sensed a recognition.”

“The police,” he added, “responded very quickly. They were able to take my security camera very quickly and they’re following significant leads.”

Dramatic footage showing two of the three robbers and the silver coloured Honda used in the armed raid was released on Monday.

Speaking outside Cabinet yesterday, Mr Davis said his wife, Ann Marie, was still shaken by the incident. He confirmed that only one of his children, a son, was at home when the incident occurred.

When asked if he was frightened when three gunmen entered his home, Mr Davis replied: “They don’t call me ‘Brave’ for nothing!”

While he said he still felt safe at his home, Mr Davis acknowledged that security measures will be enhanced. However, he maintained that he did not think there needed to be increased security detail for government ministers.

Mr Davis said: “I think the Bahamian people need more security that will come about when joining hands with ministers, like myself and politicians to fight crime, so that mothers and fathers will recognize that their children are going astray and they could intervene to stop them. 

“It’s not just what the ministers require, I think this is a people problem and I think our people need security and it has to come about by the initiatives and the plans that they have put in place.”

The incident comes five months after Mr Davis’ police aide was shot by armed robbers, and his own declaration that no one was safe from the unrelenting scourge of crime in the country.

Yesterday, Mr Davis said his declaration was meant to underscore the need for greater awareness of personal security, not an indication that the country could not protect its citizenry.

“When I said no one is safe,” he said, “it wasn’t in a context that we are not safe and we can’t protect ourselves. I was saying it in a context that we have to be aware of our surroundings, we need to be made to join hands in this fight because we cannot do it alone.”

Mr Davis said: “I think we have all accepted that crime is at an unacceptable level and that we need to break the back of it. One way to do it is by not allowing it to cripple us, paralyse us, once it occurs we need to move on and go about our business as I did.

“We will be breaking this back of crime, I am now a victim but that will not shake me in anyway or deter me from the job at hand in attacking this menace.”