The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

ORGANISERS of the The Family: People Helping People project honoured the life of Marinetta Hinson, the 66-year-old grandmother who was murdered in her home in Yellow Elder Gardens earlier this month.

Programme Director Dr David Allen and his team held a special rally at Mrs Hinson’s home on Saturday.

Dr Allen declared that his organisation would remain firm in these trying times. “We shall not flinch in the face of violence and revenge, but will stand tall with our hurting brothers and sisters in Yellow Elder and all over The Bahamas,” he said.

Citing civil rights activist Dr Martin Luther King, Dr Allen added: “We either learn to live together as brothers and sisters or perish together as fools.”

Reverend Philip Stubbs, of St Michael’s Methodist Church, stressed that in spite of the tragic incident, Bahamians should come together to celebrate the beauty of the Bahamas and to stand with residents of Yellow Elder in their time of mourning and grief.

“Although Mrs Hinson’s death is tragic, she is a Bahamian martyr who served her community well,” he said. “In standing against violence and revenge, we stand in hope and belief that we as Bahamians can live in peace and love with one another.”

Mark Beckford, a member of Dr Allen’s team and former leader of the Hornets Gang in Yellow Elder, said it was time for the violence to stop. He called for a truce and a commitment to move in love and peace instead of hatred and destruction. He challenged young men to be leaders of this new movement of love, to ensure that our country lives in peace.

Judith Blair, who was shot last year during a home invasion in the Blair community, said she has joined Dr Allen in trying to bring more peace and love to The Bahamas.

Having been shot twice in an armed robbery, she publicly forgave the young men and called upon them to follow the way of peace and love and not revenge.

Mrs Hinson died after she was shot in the head by gunmen who sprayed her home with bullets. Police said the assailants also set a portion of the home on fire during the attack.

Last week, sources in the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) suggested that they suspected Mrs Hinson was killed in an act of retaliation for a shooting that occurred in her neighbourhood two days earlier.

Chief Superintendent Paul Rolle said police believe a male relative of Mrs Hinson was involved in the earlier shooting which likely prompted the attack on Sunday. Police are searching for this relative to help with their investigation.

Anyone with information can call the police at 919 or CRIME STOPPERS at 328-TIPS in New Providence. Family Island residents can call toll-free at 1-242-300-8476.