Police remove one of the bodies from the scene on Friday morning. Photo: Terrel W Carrey/Tribune staff
By RASHAD ROLLE and RIEL MAJOR
UPDATE: POLICE killed three men during a shootout at a home off the Eastern Road early Friday morning.
The men allegedly opened fire on police officers as they executed a search warrant at a large home on Newgate Road off the Eastern Road.
Police discovered 22lbs of marijuana and two additional firearms after further search of the property, according to Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash, who confirmed several people were taken into custody at the scene.
According to The Tribune’s records, there have been four fatal police shootings this year.
Police have not identified the victims but The Tribune understands the deceased men are Jamal Penn aka”Foolish”, Valentino Pratt aka “T-boy” and Trever Cooper aka “Coopz.”
According to Mr Cash, police launched a manhunt operation in the area to locate a wanted suspect for the most recent homicide and the most recent shootings in New Providence sometime after 2.30am.
“As a result of this information officers executed a search warrant on a property,“ said CSP Cash.
CSP Cash said officers entered the property they were confronted by two armed suspects who opened fire on the officers.
He said: “The officers being in fear of their life returned fire. Both suspects were shot fatally. The officers then proceeded to the interior of the building which they breached.
“As they breached the interior they were confronted by a third armed suspect. As a result of that, officers being in fear of their life opened fire which resulted in the third suspect being shot and fatally injured.”
Mr Cash said Coroner Jeanine Weech Gomez visited the scene.
POLICE killed three men during an early Friday morning operation, Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash said.
This is the most fatalities recorded in a single police-involved shooting incident in recent memory.
It happened at a large pink residence with white trim on Newgate Road off the Eastern Road.
Mr Cash said police took several people into custody after the confrontation but he did not elaborate on who and how many were taken. After the incident, a police van left the area with what appeared to be about several children no older than 12 inside. The van returned several minutes later but soon left again with a light skinned man inside.
Mr Cash said: "Sometime around 2.30am this morning police received information relative to a wanted suspect for the most recent homicide in New Providence. As a result of this information officers executed a search warrant on a property. Once officers entered the property they were confronted by two armed suspects who opened fire on the officers. The officers being in fear of their life returned fire. Both suspects were shot fatally. The officers then proceeded to the interior of the building which they breached.
"As they breached the interior they were confronted by a third armed suspect. As a result of that, officers being in fear of their life opened fire which resulted in the third suspect being shot and fatally injured. I can tell you once the gunfire subsided the officers were able to recover three weapons."
Mr Cash said Coroner Jeanine Weech Gomez visited the scene. He said at least one of the deceased men were known to police.
About 20 minutes after updating the press, numerous officers drew their guns and ran in the easternly direction toward a car. It appeared they arrested someone but police did not confirm this.
A woman showed up to the scene and broke down in tears.
Mr Cash said concerned residents had alerted police to strange activity at the location.
By 7am this morning, curious residents began to assmble to find out what happened.
Two of them told The Tribune they never suspected criminal activity was taking place at the pink building.
Unusually for the area, people were never seen going in and out of the house, they said.
Comments
B_I_D___ 5 years, 7 months ago
Good riddence!! Now to investigate the lawyer that rented his home to known criminals...something sketchy going on there.
Well_mudda_take_sic 5 years, 7 months ago
Any lawyer found to have been knowingly renting a house they directly or indirectly own to known low-life criminal thugs should be disbarred without the need for lengthy investigatory or other disciplinary actions of any kind.
realfreethinker 5 years, 7 months ago
Well the police said they went there "acting on information" Maybe he rented the house and then tip the police off
DonAnthony 5 years, 7 months ago
From what I have read in news reports and on social media one or more of these men were known, wanted prolific criminals. Our crime problem is a multifaceted one, long in the making with no easy quick fixes. This needs to be tacked systematically and intelligently with the will to see it through. There are short term and longer term measures drastically needed.
In the short term there needs to be a task force created whose sole aim is to target prolific, career violent criminals. These persons should be under 24 hr surveillance and the moment they slip up, arrested. New Providence is too small to hide, these persons are already well known to police. A most wanted list of 100 of these individuals should be on the commissioner’s desk each morning. As they are killed or incarcerated, struck off the list and another name added. You remove the 100 most hardened criminals from our streets and crime would fall drastically overnight. It is simply unacceptable for us to allow a small group of thugs to terrorize the Bahamian public and jeopardize our way of life.
Our judiciary deserves a lot of the blame as well. Handing out far too lenient sentences for very violent crimes. Our sentencing guidelines need to be much more severe and the judiciary reformed to ensure that these chronic offenders are not quickly released to commit crime again. There is so much more but these two measures would be a great start.
yeahyasee 5 years, 7 months ago
This makes too much sense for them...great points all around.
DWW 5 years, 7 months ago
you remove one and another 10 ready to take his place. poverty and extremely high cost of living in the bahamas are the main contributor. these young men would happily take a legit well paying job but they cant get one... as there aren't many. and i mean well paying like $800 a week not $185 p/w no one can live off that.
realfreethinker 5 years, 7 months ago
$800 per week? and he can't spell eight hundred LMAO
ohdrap4 5 years, 7 months ago
where cn i get this 800 per week job?
sheeprunner12 5 years, 7 months ago
Very few trained career civil servants make $800 per week (maybe 20%) ........ But you make a good point that many youth want to make money without doing the time/training ......... So they become criminals and die like street dogs.
John 5 years, 7 months ago
So the police goes in search of one murder suspect and kills THREE. Happy Hunting!
B_I_D___ 5 years, 7 months ago
Hauled off a few more as well. Apparently action continued around Blair through the morning with police chasing various vehicles.
spoitier 5 years, 7 months ago
I don't want to sound like I am taking the criminals side because something have to be done with crimes in the Bahamas. However, how do the police show up at a house for a criminal and you have three armed males and all three of them got picked off by the cops and the cops walk out injury free? Either those criminals are lousy with guns or the police got trained by the Israeli military, because it don't sound plausible for this to happened just like that.
DWW 5 years, 7 months ago
ok. you go up against police with training and experience and multiple weapons, unlimited ammunition when all you got is a hand gun with maybe 2 or 3 magazines... lets see what happens.
spoitier 5 years, 7 months ago
When a person want to believe a story they would come up with anything. When the police enter the resident, they dont know where the people are, so at least one of them had a slight advantage because they would know where the police are. Now you can make the case that the police caught them off guard sleeping, but to admight that you would be saying the cops killed them and found guns on the scene. Besides the criminals have more dangerous weapons than the cops.
John 5 years, 7 months ago
So a defense force officer allegedly goes to government house, apparently unarmed. There are 6-8 officers stationed there and this marine allegedly sneaks in on them, steals one of their weapons, shoots up the place and kills a senior officer hitting him multiple times. The shooter escapes the compound unarmed and unharmed and none of the other officers receives injuries. The shooter then escapes. And what was all that action in the skies about that night? Who killed Sir Harry Oakes?
B_I_D___ 5 years, 7 months ago
Element of surprise, the police came in with a swift tactical thought out plan, probably woke some of the fellas out of their sleep, likely sitting ducks trying to figure out what the heck was going on while bullets were zipping past their heads.
spoitier 5 years, 7 months ago
This is what I believe happened, the cops came in caught them sleeping and shoot and killed first, guns was on the scene so they fudge the story a little.
realfreethinker 5 years, 7 months ago
Ain't feel no weight either way. They were wanted for murder. Street justice
ThisIsOurs 5 years, 7 months ago
Until they kill a boy who just walking home. Like they did the other day. Shot in the back. We love the police but we dont want them exacting the justice THEY believe is warranted
ThisIsOurs 5 years, 7 months ago
I agree with you. This story don't sound right.
ThisIsOurs 5 years, 7 months ago
"happened at a large pink residence with white trim on Newgate Road off the Eastern Road."
Why we hafta know all of that? It sounds like gossip.
"After the incident, a police van left the area with what appeared to be about several children no older than 12 inside. The van returned several minutes later but soon left again with a light skinned man inside."
What type of story is that :-
The police probably made this sound more nefarious than it probably was. It's quite possible these men had no idea this was the police. Its possible they thought it was someone trying to rob them. I dont think people need to be gunned down in a house like this. Remember the lady whose house they mistakenly entered while she was naked just out the shower? And they wouldn't allow her to get dressed? Pic is still up on the tribune site.
Criminals need to be taken off the street but they dont have to be gunned down like this.
sheeprunner12 5 years, 7 months ago
The reporter wanted to make the point that this house belonged to a prominent person in the community ........ for public embarrassment.(?)
bogart 5 years, 7 months ago
MONKEY ONCLE...!!!!!.....EPIPHANY.....!!!!!.....WELL SLAM BAM SANDWICH......!!!!!........SHOCKED....!!!!.........DIDNT KNOW OUR BEST POLICE....HAS TO PROTECTAN SHOOT........ANYONE BUT PORE PEOPLE LIVING IN ERRY GHETTO ERRY JUK JUK CORNER....RAID PORE PEOPLES AREAS.......WELL MUDDOES.....EASTERN ROAD AREA......WELL MUDDA SIC DRED....!!!!!....DIS INCIDENT MUSSEY BEEN HISTORIC OCCURING ...IN DA EASTERN ROAD AREA....
stoner 5 years, 7 months ago
The light skin man taken from the house could have been a Konky Joe as a white Bahamian is called in Nassau.
birdiestrachan 5 years, 7 months ago
The interest is that the police were fired on three times, and were not harmed..
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