Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis met with the Attorney General and members of the police force hours after the killing.
By Khrisna Russell
Deputy Chief Reporter
HOURS after an eight-month-old baby was shot dead in his home, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis met with the attorney general and Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) officials to reinforce the government’s “zero tolerance” approach to crime, stressing his commitment to provide the support police need to fight crime, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold said yesterday.
The baby’s murder, he told reporters, has left “everybody really shocked.”
However, while the family grapples with this tragic end to the infant’s life, Mr Newbold said the country must understand there is no one solution to crime. He said a complex approach must be taken to arrest this multifaceted problem.
The Minnis administration’s crime plan or perceived lack thereof by some detractors has been the source of much criticism.
Asked to respond in this regard during his regular press briefing, Mr Newbold said: “Plans won’t stop crime (or) certainly killings.”
He continued: “The Minister of National Security (Marvin Dames) has spoken to plans. The police should also present a crime plan.
“As I also said, the prime minister has called for the formation of a ministerial subcommittee as well because crime is vexing and one plan or one element of a plan is not going to solve it. We have seen that certainly with the former administration and so (it’s) a work in progress always.
“The police on one side and then social elements must be added. Whether it’s the school, whether it’s the church and we have to pay attention to the recommendations wherever they come from and do the very best that we can to implement those recommendations.”
Earlier in his presentation to the press, Mr Newbold said the Cabinet subcommittee was formed to take a holistic view of the crime problem.
“The prime minister met yesterday (Monday) with the police and the attorney general to reinforce the government’s zero tolerance approach to crime and to stress that he is still prepared to provide all the support that the police needs to get the job done.
“In fact the Cabinet subcommittee has been formed to take a holistic view of the crime situation and how the church and schools and other social partners can play a larger role in getting crime under control.
“Everybody is really shocked by what happened (Monday morning) and we understand though that there is no one solution to crime. It’s a multifaceted problem and so there must be a multifaceted (approach) to getting it under control.”
Police believe the infant, Shelton Delano Tinker was killed in an act of retaliation toward the baby’s father. Police initially said the child was 18-months-old but yesterday clarified the baby’s correct age of eight months.
The boy's mother and father were also shot during the incident. They are both listed in serious condition in hospital.
Shortly after the tragic killing, police said they wanted to speak with 19-year-old Anthon Stevens, aka “Bigga,” for help with the investigation.
Mr Stevens later turned himself in to the Central Detective Unit with his lawyer around 4.05pm in connection with the investigation, police said.
The shooting took place shortly after 3am on Monday and took the country's murder count to 90 for the year, according to The Tribune's records. It was also the second murder in less than 48 hours in the capital.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander said the adult male victim, the father of the baby, was about to enter his home off Rupert Dean Lane when he was forced into the residence by a gunman who he knew.
“The adult male just got home and he was about to enter his home, north of Dunmore Street when he was approached by a gunman known to him, who lives in this general area. “The gunman forced him into the home," ACP Fernander said Monday.
“The home is a single structure home, where the victim lived with his girlfriend and their. . . baby boy. The individual fired a number of shots resulting in three persons being shot. The male victim, his girlfriend and the baby were shot to the body. The infant died on the scene, the male and the female were transported to hospital by ambulance and they are listed in serious condition. The man is in more serious condition than the woman.”
ACP Fernander said the male victim and the suspected gunman had an argument the night before, which police believe led to the shooting.
Comments
BahamasForBahamians 7 years, 3 months ago
Hubert and Marvin can form all the committees and crime prevention initiatives they want, they will learn the hard way that crime is bigger than the government.
After politicizing the crime issue in the lead up to the last general election and professing that he had the answers because he's an ex-police Marvin must now own the crime situation and take full responsibility for his plans ineffectiveness.
In fact, it can be said that as a public we were misled by Marvin who released fancy videos during the campaign heralding his ability to solve the crime problem. Boy were we wrong.
After arresting Shane and Co (the bald headed guy needed to be arrested) its almost as if the proverbial cat has now got his tongue....unless of course its to overshadow the COP then he's dressed sharply for a press conference. What a mockery.
birdiestrachan 7 years, 3 months ago
The man is lost in a wilderness of confusion;
OldFort2012 7 years, 3 months ago
For crying out loud, it is NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. We live on a frigging rock 20 by 7 miles, not in Texas! Put in 10,000 face recognition cameras and hunt down the perpetrators and shoot them dead. As in: "OOps, he was resisting arrest". No one will care, throw the body to the sharks. After the 1,000th dead criminal, the rest will get the message.
TheMadHatter 7 years, 3 months ago
I know. I feel that way sometimes too. But we must realize that each of these "thugs" was once a cute little bouncing baby boy that everyone was proud of and said "oh he is so cute" to his teenage mother, and wondered inside of her ability to produce a baby after only being one herself not too long prior.
It is not the baby's fault that he was dealt a bad hand in life. He is not completely innocent either - he had a choice. But I mean don't blame him entirely.
If we made a law that said the Govt would FINE every mother $1000 if one of their children commits a murder, that would get people's attention.
Controversial? yes Crazy? maybe A wake up call to the long term effects of careless sex? YOU BET.
DDK 7 years, 3 months ago
Excellent idea, just a little on the low side. What about the father of the killer? How many thousand for him?
TalRussell 7 years, 3 months ago
Comrades! While PM Minnis remains all silent - tis reassuring knows there really is an "ACE" response "excuse" for every situation. Has "ACE"become Minnis's Ventriloquist Dummy?
The nation owes the former deputy leader red shirts party 'Reheasa' - our deepest apology for not hearing her out at the red party's leadership convention - about her concerns over red party's' leader Minnis's - leadership deficiencies.
Dawes 7 years, 3 months ago
The problem is everyone thinks it is easy to stop the crime and the Government just needs to do XYZ. It's not easy to stop and it will take 10-20 years to get it right, and that's with everyone's involvement. Hanging isn't going to stop it, firstly you would have to have someone found guilty before you could hang, and seeing as i think the % of murders solved is 20% or less then this won't stop the murders. In addition we keep being told that many of the murders are revenge for murders that person has done, so people who kill must know they already stand a chance of being killed. CCTV alone wont work but would be good to have (the UK has more cameras then most places and they still have murders).
My suggestions would be education (our schools are failing too many), improve the conviction rate (proper policing and investigation so trials are won), CCTV and legalise weed as too many kids go down the crime route via that.
OMG 7 years, 3 months ago
There is no easy solution as long as you have young ill educated unemployed young men but maybe cameras like they have everywhere in the UK being placed in crime hot spots might be a start.
alfalfa 7 years, 3 months ago
I hope the camera's work better than the ankle bracelets, and are bulletproof. If not, they will be used for target practice.
OldFort2012 7 years, 3 months ago
It would not surprise me, and I hope they do. They will get filmed doing it by the one next door. And then the police can use them for target practice. I would put cameras every 100 yards everywhere, facing every direction. Swamp this rock with 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 cameras.
sealice 7 years, 3 months ago
Why are all the PLP trolls acting like their people actually did something to combat crime.... the only association they had with criminals was taking bribes and looking the other way???
BahamasForBahamians 7 years, 3 months ago
Its too late to blame the PLP you fooktard.
Marvin paraded videos around celebrating his ability to fight crime.
MARVIN is now the minister of national security he must own this crime issue as he did prior to being in the seat!
Fook off with your past administration analysis. We care about whats happening now!
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 3 months ago
"Annihilating" people will only feed the cycle of violence. You will make them into martyrs. What's needed is "intelligence" and "justice". If for example one man is dragged before the courts for stealing by way of employment at NIB, you cannot transfer another senior man from another ministry, let's say Finance, when he's committed the exact same crime. When "justice" is corrupted you have problems. When people feel there's one rule for their people and another rule for everyone else. We've have 40 years of corrupted justice
jackbnimble 7 years, 3 months ago
I'm surprised that anything in the Bahamas can be "rocked" anymore, much less the cabinet.
In May, 2000 when Archdeacon William Thompson was shot and killed, the country was "rocked" as crime had now infiltrated "the church".
In August, 2010 a 3-month old being held in a car by his father was shot and the country was again "rocked" . OMG! A baby had been shot.
In February, 2017, a 1-year old was shot in another drive-by. People said, "Lord, they shooting children" and the country was again "rocked".
Now we have an 8-month old that not only been shot, but killed and somehow our cabinet and, no doubt, our country is again "rocked".
We done do all the rocking we needed to 'roc with doc' and get the FNM elected for change. How much rockin' we gat to do before we make up our minds as a society with a Government at the helm whose mantra is "It's the people's time" before we seriously address crime.
To hell with rockin!
Pass the necessary legislation, if necessary, that takes our criminal matters from the Privy Council (because no murder will ever be the worst of the worse - that's clear) and puts our criminal matters before a Caribbean court that has no issues with capital punishment
Pass the necessary legislation that stops bail from being granted to repeat offenders for serious crimes. It only keeps keeps our hard-working policeman frustrated.
You are the cabinet. You are the government. We elected you for change. Pass the relevant laws and stop the rockin'!!
Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 3 months ago
Thumbs up from me! Could not have said it any better.
DDK 7 years, 3 months ago
Ditto!
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 3 months ago
Agreed, tired of the hastily organized press conferences, grandiose announcements of zero tolerance crackdowns and 24/7 patrolling. Plan for a nightmare scenario and execute. God willing we won't have one but your plan would cover everything in between. And yes act like you in charge no more but look what they do
TigerB 7 years, 3 months ago
While we play the blame game, people are dying, frankly I agree with jackbnimble, the island is too small. I left Nassau in 1995 because of the three C's, crime, the cars and the crowd. Seems everyone is complaining but not doing anything. Some of you who post about Marvin Dames .. well shut up and form a crime watch group in your area and patrol your neighbourhood, don't just sit and talk, you have to live there, so something. Its not political, and will not ever be any better, crime will get worst . Every year young men come out of school with no education, they have no desire to work, so they teef, and mess up society. Be apart of the solution, bring up ya children right, send then back to sunday school. Change has to start from with in. I been away from Nassau for 22 years, hell I ain gion back there to live. if I can help it.
TalRussell 7 years, 3 months ago
Comrades! We need a 'change revolution' from where wealth is like an opium, worshiped without caring where and how such wealth is achieved. There has be questions about how certain politicians and the politically appointed to high government positions and the politically connected - can makes their exists as "untouchables' after just 5 years with increased assets in the millions of dollars? Prime Minister Minnis, 'gave his word' that the deadline for MP's to file their Financial Disclosures - would be by a date 'long passed' - June 30, 2017. Is the PM's word - NO longer to be trusted nor believed?
Comrades, stop looking only down to spot the causes of crime - when we need be looking upwards at the high ups people too.
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 3 months ago
As bad as this is I'm 100% certain he regrets it. Blind rage. Too bad the devil fools so many of our young men.
DDK 7 years, 3 months ago
You may be right, but he had a gun. Why is there little talk by the authorities about the guns on the street? Are they coming into the country via boat, plane or boxes in containers? It seems as though hand guns are now as readily available as marijuana.........
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 3 months ago
Not saying to go easy on him, I'm still not clear on whether this was deliberate or not or whether the baby was hit because it was "there". I suspect the court would term it deliberate in either case since a reasonable person would assume anyone in those small confines would be hit. He deserves whatever punishment the court hands down. Just saying it's too bad another life is wasted. He's clearly already sorry he did it. Whether he's sorry for himself or the people he hurt
TheMadHatter 7 years, 3 months ago
Thank God for the Devil - or else who would we have to blame?
ThisIsOurs 7 years, 3 months ago
He's responsible for his choices....he allowed himself to be fooled...too bad
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